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REQUEST  FOR  INFORMATION 

We  want  to  form  a  Mission  Study  Class  on  the  text  book  "Christian 
Democracy  for  America"  In  our  Church  and  desire  the  "Suggestions  for 
l^eaders"  and  other  material  that  will  be  of  help  In  organizing  and  con- 
ducting it. 

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MISSION  STUDY  ENROLLMENT 


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If  the  class  is  organized  In  the  Epworth  League,  please  send  the  above 
request  to  the  Central  office  of  the  Epworth  League,  740  Rush  Street, 
Chicago,  Illinois. 

If  organized  in  the  Sunday  School,  send  to  The  Board  of  Sunday 
Schools,  68  East  Washington  Street,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

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>    a 

o    $ 
o  ^ 


Christian    Democracy 
for    America 


BY 

DAVID  D.  FORSYTH 

and 

RALPH  WELLES  KEELER 


THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN 
NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Copyright,  1918,  by 
THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN 


Flral  Kdition  Printwl  July,  1918 
RepriDt«d  November,  1018 


CONTENTS 

CBAFTBB                                                                                                                                               '  FAQX 

Foreword 11 

I.    Democracy's  Foundations 15 

11.    The  Rural  Opportunity 39 

III.  Our  Future  Citizens 67 

IV.  "Where  Cross  the  Crowded  Ways  of  Life" 91 

V.     The  Church  and  the  Negro 119 

VI.     Christian  Democracy  Power  Plants 143 

VII.     Variants  of  the  Task 165 

VIII.    The  Challenge  of  the  Christ 191 

Bibliography 211 

Appendix 213 


ILLUSTRATIONS 
*'We're  Going  Over" Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

The  Old  Frontier  and  tlie  New 19 

Grandfather 's  Rural  Church 45 

A  Modern  Church  in  a  Rural  Community 45 

Mohammedan  Children  at  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania ...  69 

Children  of  the  Nations  at  Ellis  Island 69 

A  Negro  Neighborhood  in  Columbus,  Ohio 125 

Sunday  School  at  East  Calvary  Methodist  Episcopal 

Church,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania 125 

An  Alaskan  Family 165 

A  Daughter  of  Hawaii 165 

The  Water  "Wagon  in  Porto  Rico 165 

The  Gospel  in  the  Open — Little  Italy,  New  York  City . .  191 
For  Country  and  for   God — Flag  Raising  at  Bethel 
Ship,     Norwegian-Danish'     Methodist     Episcopal 

Church,  Brooklyn,  New  York 191 


CHAETS  AND  MAPS 

PAGE 

The  Frontier  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 21 

Land  Available  and  Eate  of  Acquisition 23 

United  States  Government  Irrigation  Projects 25 

Ten- Year  Study  of  Methodist  Frontier  Work 29 

Membership  of  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  Compared 

with  State  Population 41 

Eural  Industrial  America 43 

Why  Ministers  Leave  the  Country  (White) 50 

Why  Ministers  Leave  the  Country  (Negro) 51 

The  ''Supply"  Problem  in  the  Eural  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  56 

Protestant  Population  by  States 72 

The  Immigrant  Zone ....'. 75 

Eapid  Growth  of  Cities 94 

Where  the  Cities  Grow 99 

Some  Figures  That  Talk 131 

Where    Leaders    for    Christian    Democracy    May    Be 

Trained   157 

Frontier  Variants  of  the  Task 171 

Alaska — ''Seward's  Folly"  and  Our  Opportunity 178 

The  Halfway  House  of  the  Pacific 181 

Porto  Eico,  Showing  Points  Where  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  is  Teaching  Christian  Democracy. . .  184 


FOREWORD 

Two  men  stood  in  the  Colosseum  at  Rome. 

* '  Think  of  the  men  who  have  stood  here ! "  said  one. 

''Think  of  the  men  who  ivill!"  said  tlie  other. 

That  is  the  Christian  outlook  in  all  ages.  It  fronts  the 
dawn.    Its  word  of  command  is  ' '  Eyes  Front ! ' ' 

The  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  beginning  of 
Methodist  Missions  in  1819  is  not  being  celebrated  by  a 
history  of  the  past  but  by  a  program  for  a  future.  The 
Centenary  World  Program  of  Methodism  is  an  expression 
of  the  only  answer  which  the  Christian  Church  can  make  to 
a  world  at  war — a  vigorous  and  world-wide  extension  of  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

Two  volumes  dealing  with  the  place  of  Christianity  in 
the  world  situation  are  published  as  part  of  the  observance 
of  the  Centenary  of  Methodist  Missions. 

The  present  volume  considers  the  place  of  the  Church 
through  its  home  missions,  in  strengthening  the  forces  of 
Christian  democracy  in  our  own  land.  A  companion  volume, 
The  Christian  Crusade  for  World  Democracy,  deals  with  the 
relation  of  Christian  missions  to  world  democracy. 

The  books  are  designed  for  use  in  Mission  Study  classes 
in  Epworth  Leagues,  young  people's  societies,  church 
groups,  and  Sunday  schools,  as  well  as  for  general  reading. 

The  authors  of  Christian  Democracy  for  America  desire 
to  acknowledge  the  helpful  suggestions  made  by  the  superin- 
tendents of  the  several  departments  of  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions  and  Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  They  wish  also  to  give  credit  to  Miss  Edith  M. 
Williamson,  for  the  research  work  done  and  her  careful 
work  upon  many  of  the  maps  used,  to  Rev.  Crawford  Trotter 
for  writing  the  immigrant  chapter  as  it  appeared  in  the 
summer  edition,  to  the  Rev.  Paul  Barton,  for  work  done  on 
the  preliminary  draft  of  the  chapter  on  The  Challenge  of  the 

Christ,  to  Dr.  I.  Garland  Penn,  Qgr^Qsponding  secretary  of 

11 


12      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

the  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  for  material  and  suggestions  for  the  chapter  on 
"The  Negro  and  the  Church,"  and  to  Mr.  Carl  F.  Price  for 
his  careful  reading  of  the  manuscript  and  helpful  criticism. 

America  will  be  what  we  make  it.  May  the  words  of 
Katherine  Lee  Bates  be  our  song  as  we  labor  to  make  it  a 
land  of  Christian  democracy. 

"0  beautiful  for  spacious  skies, 

For  amber  waves  of  grain, 
For  purple  mountain  majesties 

Above  the  fruited  plain. 
America !     America ! 

God  shed  his  grace  on  thee. 
And  crown  thy  good  with  brotherhood 

From  sea  to  shining  seal 

"0  beautiful  for  pilgrim  feet, 

Whose  stern,  impassioned  stress 
A  thoroughfare  for  freedom  beat 

Across  the  wilderness! 
America  1     America ! 

God  mend  thine  every  flaw. 
Confirm  thy  soul  in  self  control. 

Thy  liberty  in  law  I 

"O  beautiful  for  heroes  proved 

In  liberating  strife. 
Who  more  than  self  their  country  loved. 

And  mercy  more  than  life. 
America  I     America  I 

May  God  thy  gold  refine, 
Till  all  success  be  nobleness. 

And  every  gain  divine! 

"O  beautiful  for  patriot  dream 
That  sees  beyond  the  years 
Thine  alabaster  cities  gleam 

Undimmed  by  human  tears! 
America !     America  1 

God  shed  his  grace  on  thee, 
And  crown  thy  good  with  brotherhood 
From  sea  to  shining  f^ea!" 


I  WAS  listening  to  the  most  wonderful  narrative  I  had  ever  heard. 
Or,  no,  I  did  not  listen.  The  low-ceiled  room,  lined  on  every  side  with 
books,  vanished.  I  sailed  across  uncharted  seas  with  a  baud  of  men 
and  women  who  were  daring  unknown  dangers  to  be  free.  I  saw  them 
in  their  winning  struggles  with  the  wilderness  and  with  the  Indians. 
In  the  same  cause  of  freedom  I  boarded  a  boat  with  them  in  the  night, 
and  watched  them  fling  casks  of  tea  into  the  dark  waters  about  them. 
I  rode  with  Paul  Revere,  and  heard  the  shots  of  the  minute  men  at 
Lexington  and  Concord.  I  heard  the  deathless  words  of  Nathan  Hale 
as  he  waited  his  doom.  I  cheered  a  dashing  man  named  Arnold  as  he 
turned  the  tide  of  victory  at  Saratoga,  and,  with  sinking  heart,  saw  him 
turn  traitor  afterward.  I  suffered  with  Washington  at  Valley  Forge 
and  marched  beside  him  on  and  on,  until  I  stood  before  Yorktown, 
and  saw  freedom  again  win  its  victory.  .  .  .  He  had  magically 
swept  open  the  door  into  an  undiscovered  land — my  undiscovered  land 
— where  men  dared  all  for  freedom  with  a  red-white-and-blue  flag 
waving  above  them. — Arthur  Goodrich,  in  The  Sign  of  Freedom. 

The  hand  of  destiny  has  prepared  us  for  this  day.  From  the 
day  when  the  Puritan  fled  from  the  thraldom  of  autocracy  to  find  a 
new  home  in  a  new  West,  the  hand  of  the  Omnipotent  has  guided  us. 
With  the  building  of  the  home  went  the  establishment  of  the  church 
and  the  schoolhouse,  to  guide  us  in  the  free  and  open  worship  of  our 
God  and  in  the  teaching  of  our  youth  the  fundamental  principles  of 
democracy.  A  great  continent  developed  before  us.  The  rich  coal 
deposits  and  vast  forests  of  the  North,  the  mighty  steel  industries  and 
the  numerous  manufactories  of  the  East,  the  great  cotton  fields  of  the 
South,  and  the  full  granaries  of  the  West — all  these  were  developed  to 
make  us  the  wealthiest  nation  in  the  world.  At  last  the  hour  has  come, 
in  the  world  crisis,  when  resources  shall  weigh  the  scale  for  autocracy  or 
democracy. — R.  Lawrence  Covghlin,  in  The  Star  of  the  West. 

The  only  kind  of  Christianity  that  is  going  ultimately  to  succeed 
anywhere  is  the  kind  that  works  here  in  America,  for  sooner  or  later 
all  the  objections,  philosophical,  commercial,  and  otherwise,  which  are 
met  in  America  must  be  faced  elsewhere.  What  the  world  has  been 
waiting  for  through  the  centuries  is  a  sample  Christian  nation.  America 
has  the  best  chance  of  being  that  sample.  Consequently,  every  move- 
ment which  better  expresses  Christian  ideals  in  American  life  makes 
easier  the  task  of  the  missionary  abroad.  On  the  other  hand,  any 
custom  that  is  unjust  makes  more  diflicult  the  task  of  our  foreign  work- 
ers.— Edward  Laird  Mills. 


CHAPTER  I 
DEMOCRACY'S  FOUNDATIONS 

A  SieOKESMAN  FOR  WoELD  DEMOCRACY 

America  has  become  spokesman  for  world  democracy. 
The  experiment  expressed  in  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence has  proved  a  dream  worthy  the  acceptance  of  all 
people.  From  the  national  capital  of  the  United  States  of 
America  has  gone  forth  the  challenge  which  is  to  change  the 
status  of  human  relationships  the  world  over.  On  the  streets 
of  Bombay  and  in  the  tea  houses  of  China  men  are  discuss- 
ing the  meaning  of  a  democracy  for  which  the  world  must 
be  made  safe  at  the  cost  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  lives. 
An  ideal  of  human  brotherhood,  economic  justice  and  social 
fair  play  is  being  interpreted  by  folks  who  gave  it  scant  heed 
a  few  months  ago.  The  minds  of  men  are  aflame  with  the 
the  fires  of  a  new  day.  And  America,  only  a  short  time  ago 
a  handful  of  colonists  with  a  new  idea,  but  now  a  nation  one 
hundred  and  four  millions  strong,  is  leading  the  way  to  a 
practical  application  of  all  that  the  term  ''democracy" 
means. 

And  what  does  "democracy"  mean?  It  is  not  a  mere 
rhetorical  catchword.  Wrought  out  in  the  rough  school  of  a 
nation's  development,  it  is  a  part  of  the  life  of  a  people  seek- 
ing the  highest  form  of  self-government,  both  as  individuals 
and  as  a  nation.  For  only  as  individuals  prove  the  theory 
of  personal  self-government  are  they  able  successfully  to 
apply  its  principles  nationally  to  affairs  which  concern  the 
larger  group.  In  demonstrating  ability  for  self-government 
one  best  learns  what  democracy  means.  But  statements 
brought  to  utterance  by  the  world  war  give  a  firm  foundation 
for  democracy's  interpretation.  President  Wilson  pleads 
for  "fair  dealing,  justice,  the  freedom  to  live  and  be  at  ease 

15 


16      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

against  organized  wrong,  .  .  .  the  right  of  those  who  sub- 
mit to  authority  to  have  a  voice  in  their  own  governments, 
for  the  rights  and  liberties  of  small  nations,  for  a  universal 
dominion  of  right  by  such  a  concert  of  free  peoples  as  shall 
bring  peace  and  safety  to  all  nations  and  make  the  world 
itself  at  last  free. " 

Such  a  statement  implies  a  background  of  national  life 
capable  of  bringing  to  fruition  the  ideals  which  it  embodies. 
It  suggests  a  development  which  has  forced  into  practice  the 
theories  upon  which  it  is  based.  It  calls  up  the  struggle  to 
clear  the  forests.  It  sees  the  prairie  schooner  lumbering 
along  the  rough  and  tiresome  trail.  Log  cabins  in  the 
wilderness,  the  fight  to  maintain  existence,  the  efforts  to 
raise  and  educate  a  family  under  adverse  conditions,  all 
come  to  mind.  Communities  take  the  place  of  stockade  forts. 
Commonwealths  with  citizens  striving  for  the  good  of  all 
multiply.  And  suddenly,  out  of  the  apparent  lack  of  a 
national  consciousness,  men  are  seen  marching  to  battle  for 
the  ideals  of  "my  country."  In  an  hour  of  world  chaos  the 
nation  has  risen  to  declare  by  every  form  of  sacrifice  that  it 
believes  implicitly  in  all  that  it  has  taught  and  sung. 

Democracy's  Foundations 

This  manifestation  of  sacrificial  devotion  spieaks  elo- 
quently for  the  foundations  upon  which  our  democracy 
rests.  As  a  nation  we  have  not  reached  perfection.  There 
is  still  a  long  road  to  travel.  We  may  even  ask  ourselves  if 
our  nation  has  become  so  righteous,  so  filled  with  the  spirit 
of  economic  and  social  justice,  so  alive  to  the  real  content  of 
the  term  "brotherhood,"  so  keen  to  worship  God  and  do  his 
will,  that  we  are  ready  to  give  to  the  world  a  form  of  religion 
that  will  make  possible  the  practical  applications  of  all  that 
democracy  involves.  But  the  fact  that  religion  of  a  practical 
character  enters  into  the  most  fundamental  aspects  of  our 
thinking  of  democracy  cheers  the  heart  of  the  world  to 
expect  great  things  from  us,  for  the  foundations  of  our  na- 
tional life  are  rooted  in  faith  in  God. 


DEMOCRACY'S  FOUNDATIONS  17 

A  seeking  to  know  God  has  been  a  part  of  the  whole 
adventure  of  settling  the  United  States.  Along  with  the 
growth  of  the  nation  has  gone  the  growth  of  the  Christian 
Church.  Many  of  the  early  pioneers  carried  with  them  not 
only  the  dream  of  new  communities  but  also  the  purpose  to 
make  these  communities  Christian.  The  preacher  went 
along  with  the  pathfinder  and  homesteader.  As  railroads 
pushed  their  way  over  the  mountains  and  across  the  plains 
the  church  sent  out  its  home  missionaries  in  order  that  the 
people  might  not  forget  God  in  their  new  eavironment.  The 
same  folks  who  toiled  in  the  forest  or  in  the  field  during  the 
week  gathered  on  Sunday  to  hear  the  message  of  the  Christ. 
Only  in  those  settlements  where  no  minister  was  provided 
did  the  ardor  for  the  kingdom  of  God  disappear.  And  the 
people  from  such  communities  have  had  to  take  cognizance 
of  the  Christian  idealism  of  those  who  held  to  the  worship  of 
God  when  it  has  come  to  the  formulating  of  the  larger 
policies  of  government. 

What  a  tribute  to  the  faith  of  our  fathers  is  the  work 
which  has  been  done  by  the  public  schools !  They  believed  in 
an  intelligent  knowledge  of  God  and  provided  for  the  train- 
ing of  the  young  so  that  they  might  have  a  faith  that  would 
endure.  Here  the  story  of  the  stars  and  stripes  was  woven 
into  the  lessons  of  the  day.  Patriotism  was  taught.  The 
atmosphere  of  learning  had  in  it  a  devotion  which  would 
last  through  life.  It  was  all  a  part  of  the  larger  ministry  of 
the  church,  because  churchmen  were  always  the  first  to 
recognize  the  need  of  education  and  most  eager  to  help  pro- 
vide it.  They  felt  it  essential  to  the  establishment  of  the 
right  kind  of  homes.  Around  the  open  fire  at  night  it  was 
possible  to  give  practical  application  to  the  principles  of 
democracy  learned  in  the  log  school  during  the  day.  The 
public  school,  the  home  and  the  church  have  worked  as  one  in 
promulgating  the  principles  which  now  are  the  rock-bed 
foundation  of  our  national  ideals. 

Every  denomination  has  contributed  to  the  great  ad- 
venture of  settling  the  country  and  providing  the  settlers 


18      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

with  high  ideals  of  thought  and  life.  The  very  hugeness  of 
the  task  has  demanded  the  best  that  every  expression  of  reli- 
gion could  give.  It  is  not  the  job  of  any  one  denomination. 
The  very  idea  of  democracy  would  exclude  such  a  thought. 
And  to-day,  more  than  at  any  time  in  the  history  of  the  reli- 
gious bodies  of  the  United  States,  is  there  a  tendency  toward 
Christian  unity  of  effort  and  practical  cooperation.  How 
this  will  hasten  the  day  when  Christian  democracy  will  be 
the  ruling  practice  of  the  land!  The  nation  is  looking  to  the 
Church  for  greater  leadership  than  has  been  furnished.  In 
the  story  of  what  one  denomination  has  done  and  is  plan- 
ning comes  the  challenge  for  all  denominations  to  recognize 
the  fact  that  to-day  is  the  hour  of  the  nation's  need.  Now 
may  service  be  rendered  that  will  count  forever. 

Methodism  a  Force  for  Democracy 

In  the  task  of  Christianizing  the  democracy  of  America 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  had  a  worthy  part. 
The  circuit  rider  was  an  early  arrival  in  the  history  of  our 
country.  From  hamlet  to  hamlet  he  ministered  as  he  found 
opportunity.  Nor  was  he  a  recluse  of  the  study.  One  of 
those  to  whom  he  preached,  he  was  as  concerned  as  were  they 
over  the  material  development  of  the  country.  When  Jason 
Lee  discovered  the  great  possibilities  for  the  United  States 
in  the  Oregon  Country  he  counted  it  as  much  a  part  of  his 
ministry  to  plead  with  national  leaders  to  acquire  this  valu- 
able land  as  'he  did  to  present  the  doctrine  of  Christian 
brotherhood  among  those  who  were  then  living  in  the  Wil- 
lamette Valley. 

The  first  Protestant  sermon  preached  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  was  delivered  in  1834  by  Jason  Lee  near  the 
present  site  of  Blackfoot,  Idaho.  When  the  Missionary 
Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized 
in  1819  there  were  only  three  white,  Anglo-Saxon,  permanent 
settlements  in  all  the  territory  now  comprised  in  the  frontier 
States  and  South  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Oklahoma, 
Texas,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  and  Missouri.    Saint  Louis,  on  the 


THE  OLD  FRONTIER  AND  THE  NEW 


DEMOCRACY'S  FOUNDATIONS  19 

Mississippi,  was  an  outfitting  point  for  the  western  fur  trade 
and  was  more  French  than  English.  Vancouver,  on  the 
Columbia  River,  was  under  the  control  of  the  British  Hud- 
son Bay  Company.  Astoria,  one  hundred  miles  farther 
down  the  same  stream,  had  been  feebly  touched  with  Amer- 
ican influence  by  John  Jacob  Astor. 

Yet  it  was  this  section  of  the  country  which  decided  the 
issues  of  the  Presidential  election  of  1916,  and  which  is 
destined  to  become  more  and  more  influential  in  political 
affairs.  It  is  now  the  most  purely  and  intensely  American 
section  of  the  country,  and  the  intrepid  and  adventurous 
Methodist  circuit  rider  had  much  to  do  with  making  it  so. 
To  these  Knights  of  the  Saddlebag  is  due  in  no  small  degree 
the  deeply  embedded  ethical  sense  which  now  flowers  out  so 
beautifully  in  wholesome  habits  and  beneficent  statutes. 
Nine  of  the  twelve  frontier  States  now  are  ''dry,"  while 
Nevada  and  Wyoming  are  to  vote  on  prohibition  in  the  fall 
of  1918.  Most  of  these  States  also  have  woman  suffrage 
and  laws  for  workmen's  compensation,  regulation  of  public 
utilities,  the  abolition  of  child  labor,  the  minimum  wage,  the 
limitation  of  hours  of  service  for  women,  and  the  initiative, 
referendum,  and  recall.  Christian  democracy  1  The  circuit 
rider  could  not  have  dreamed  of  the  results  which  would  thus 
come  in  part  from  his  arduous  labors  and  ministry. 

A  Tribute  to  the  Circuit  Rider 

In  addressing  the  delegates  to  the  Greneral  Conference 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1908  President  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt  said :  ' '  The  Methodist  Church  plays  a  great 
part  in  many  lands ;  and  yet  I  think  I  can  say  that  in  none 
other  has  it  played  so  great  and  peculiar  a  part  as  here  in 
the  United  States.  Its  history  is  indissolubly  interwoven 
with  the  history  of  our  country  for  the  six  score  years  since 
the  constitutional  convention  made  us  really  a  nation.  Meth- 
odism in  America  entered  on  its  period  of  rapid  growth  just 
about  the  time  of  Washington's  first  presidency.  Its  essen- 
tial democracy,  its  fiery  and  restless  energy  of  spirit,  and 


20      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

the  wide  play  that  it  gave  to  individual  initiative  all  tended 
to  make  it  peculiarly  congenial  to  a  hardy  and  virile  folk, 
democratic  to  the  core,  prizing  individual  independence 
above  all  earthly  possessions,  and  engaged  in  the  rough  and 
stern  work  of  conquering  a  continent.  Methodism  spread 
even  among  the  old  .communities  and  long-settled  districts 
of  the  Atlantic  tidewater;  but  its  phenomenal  growth  was 
from  these  regions  westward.  The  whole  country  is  under 
debt  of  gratitude  to  the  Methodist  circuit  riders,  the  Meth- 
odist pioneer  preacher,  whose  movement  westward  kept  pace 
with  the  movement  of  the  frontier,  who  shared  all  the  hard- 
ships in  the  life  of  the  frontiersman,  while  at  the  same  time 
ministering  to  that  frontiersman's  spiritual  needs,  and  see- 
ing that  his  pressing  material  cares  and  the  hard  and  grind- 
ing poverty  of  his  life  did  not  wholly  extinguish  the  divine 
fire  within  his  soul." 

The  Modern  Frontier 

The  rapidity  of  settlement  of  any  country  depends  in 
part  upon  the  amount  of  tillable  land  available.  This  ac- 
counts for  the  vast  stretches  of  land  passed  over  by  early 
settlers  pushing  westward.  The  rush  to  the  Pacific  Coast 
wiped  out  the  frontier  in  a  technical  sense.  In  reality  it  left 
a  great  frontier  in  between  more  settled  sections  of  the 
country.  Because  of  this  the  frontier  still  remains  for  the 
church.  Twelve  great  States  comprise  the  frontier  as  de- 
fined for  the  home  mission  work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  While  there  are  a  few  strong  cities  within  this 
boundary,  for  the  most  part  the  land  is  but  sparsely  settled. 
By  actual  census  the  State  of  New  York  has  a  larger  popu- 
lation than  the  combined  States  of  Arizona,  California, 
Colorado,  Idaho,  Montana,  Nevada,  New  Mexico,  Oregon, 
North  Dakota,  Utah,  Washington,  and  Wyoming.  Five  peo- 
ple to  a  square  mile  does  not  crowd  anyone  very  roughly. 
The  abundant  resources  of  this  frontier  have  been  and  will 
be  utilized  only  as  the  increasing  pressure  of  population 
forces  development.    Our  geographies  long  since  ceased  to 


22      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

mark  a  portion  of  the  map  with  the  romantic  term  "fron- 
tier." But  there  will  be  frontier  conditions  and  problems 
until  the  population  becomes  much  more  dense  than  it  is 
to-day,  and  that  time  is  a  long  and  indefinite  period  in  the 
future.  During  this  interim  the  church  must  continue  to 
make  sure  that  the  foundations  of  our  democracy  are 
cemented  together  by  the  teachings  and  principles  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

Available  Lands  for  Settlement 

New  settlers  are  constantly  crowding  into  the  frontier 
section.  The  land  to  be  obtained  is  plentiful.  And  as  they 
come  to  build  new  homes  and  lay  out  new  communities  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  common  with  other  de- 
nominations, must  meet  the  developing  religious  needs.  On 
account  of  the  general  impression  that  the  frontier  has 
passed  away  hundreds  of  towns  and  villages  have  been  left 
without  any  Protestant  church  whatever.  The  seriousness 
for  democracy  of  such  a  condition  is  seen  when  it  is  noted 
that  the  total  number  of  homestead  patents  issued  in  fron- 
tier territory  by  land  oflBcers  in  these  States  for  1917  was 
43,727,  a  number  exceeded  only  in  1913-14.  Over  100,000 
original  homestead  entries  were  made  in  the  same  time.  In 
one  of  these  States  four  out  of  ten  land  offices  registered  at 
the  rate  of  over  100  homesteads  a  week.  In  Montana  alone 
over  3,000,000  acres  were  appropriated  and  still  there  are 
11,000,000  acres  to  be  disposed  of  in  this  way.  The  60,000,- 
000  acres  given  to  the  frontier  States  for  educational  pur- 
poses are  also  finding  their  way  into  the  hands  of  intending 
settlers,  either  by  rental  or  sale.  In  one  instance,  in  1917, 
$1,250,000  worth  of  such  land  was  sold  for  an  average  price 
of  $17.84  an  acre.  Some  of  it  brought  $40  an  acre.  All  of 
this  land  was  unirrigated. 

The  sale  of  railroad  land  is  making  available  for  settle- 
ment other  opportunities  for  the  adventurous  homesteader. 
In  these  same  States  the  government,  in  order  to  secure  the 
building  of  the  great  transcontinental  railroads,  gave  them 


24      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

over  60,000,000  acres  of  land  along  their  right  of  way.  The 
Canadian  Pacific  Railroad  sold  in  1917  over  750,000  acres 
of  the  land  which  it  secured  in  this  way.  The  irrigated  land 
sold  for  $46  an  acre,  the  unirrigated  for  $16.  Most  of  this 
land  lies  directly  north  of  our  frontier  and  is  similar  in 
natural  characteristics  to  our  own.  There  are  also  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  acres  of  *Mogged-off"  lands  in  the  North- 
west, owned  by  lumber  companies  and  at  present  held  at  dis- 
couraging prices.  As  the  population  pressure  increases  the 
high  prices  demanded  will  be  paid.  Tlie  fact  that  over  a  mil- 
lion acres  of  Indian  lands  were  sold  in  1917  indicates  the 
rapidity  with  which  people  are  occupying  these  present-day 
opportunities  of  the  West. 

The  great  private  grants,  given  in  the  days  of  Spanish 
and  Mexican  domination  in  California  and  New  Mexico, 
must  also  be  taken  into  account.  Nearly  one  half  of  the 
coast  land  of  California  for  twenty-five  miles  inland  was 
given  in  such  grants.  The  Maxwell  grant  near  Cimarron,  in 
New  Mexico,  is  35  by  55  miles  in  extent  and  contains  1,714,- 
764  acres.  Only  5,000  acres  of  this  land  was  fanned  while 
the  original  owner  was  alive.  The  Beale  Ranch  of  170,000 
acres  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  in  California,  was  divided 
for  sale  as  late  as  1912.  These  grants  tend  constantly  to  be 
broken  up  and  sold  in  smaller  lots. 

Finally  there  are  the  numerous  large  private  ranches, 
variously  acquired,  all  over  the  frontier.  A  striking  ex- 
ample of  this  sort  of  possession  is  the  Miller  and  Lux 
ranches  in  California,  which  extend  from  San  Diego  to 
Oregon.  It  is  said  that  the  owners  could  drive  their  cattle  or 
sheep  from  Mexico  to  Oregon  without  having  to  camp  over- 
night on  any  land  not  owned  by  the  firm.  The  acreage  of 
these  ranches  runs  into  the  millions  and  it  has  been  conserv- 
atively valued  at  $30,000,000.  Recent  scientific  studies  and 
experiments,  by  which  careful  preparation  of  the  soil  in  dry- 
fanning  areas  produces  croi)s  with  an  annual  rainfall  as  low 
as  ten  or  twelve  inches,  lead  to  the  assumption  that  most  of 
this  land  is  potentially  agricultural. 


DEMOCRACY'S  FOUNDATIONS 
Irrigation 


25 


Irrigation  is  adding  to  the  acreage  available  for  culti- 
vation. In  a  literal  sense  it  is  making  the  desert  blossom  and 
bear  fruit.    By  a  process  of  dams  and  canals  or  ditches, 


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UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT  IRRIGATION  PROJECTS  IN 
FRONTIER  TERRITORY 

water  is  provided  the  thirsty  land  as  the  need  requires.  This 
makes  possible  the  cultivation  of  land  for  years  considered 
to  be  useless   for  agricultural  purposes.    In  1915  there  was 


26      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

an  irrigable  area  of  1,405,000  acres  on  irrigation  projects 
owned  by  the  United  States.  Eight  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand acres  were  actually  "cropped"  or  cultivated,  while  a 
million  acres  were  actually  irrigated.  The  accompanying 
map  shows  only  the  irrigation  projects  under  the  control  of 
the  United  States  Reclamation  Service.  Extensive  use  has 
been  made  also  of  the  Carey  Land  Act,  in  which  the  States 
participate.  Moreover,  all  along  the  water  courses  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  irrigation  to  the  extent  of  the  then  avail- 
able water  resources  was  practiced  for  many  years  by  pri- 
vate individuals  before  the  national  government  became 
interested  in  it.  The  irrigated  acreage  of  all  sorts  is  now 
15,000,000.  This  is  ten  times  the  area  shown  on  the  map; 
40,000,000  additional  acres  could  be  irrigated  if  sufficient 
capital  were  expended  in  constructing  dams,  reservoirs,  and 
ditches.  The  Truckee-Carson  project  in  Nevada  has  200,000 
acres  of  irrigable  land,  only  one  sixth  of  which  is  actually 
irrigated  and  cultivated.  It  will  be  some  years,  therefore, 
before  this  project  and  others  like  it  reach  their  full  develop- 
ment. The  irrigation  projects  with  the  small-sized  farm  and 
intensive  cultivation  present  opportunities  for  a  complete 
and  fine  community  life.  Four  or  five  thousand  acres  of 
cultivated  land  will  sustain  a  good-sized  town,  where  the 
farmers  may  live  together  and  enjoy  good  social  and  edu- 
cational advantages. 

Characteristics  of  the  Frontier 
The  newness  of  the  frontier  is  what  makes  it  an  urgent 
challenge  to  the  church.  So  far  as  its  Anglo-Saxon  and 
Protestant  civilization  is  concerned  it  is  mostly  less  than  two 
generations  old.  This  newness  means  that  financial  re- 
sources for  the  development  of  the  country  must  come  from 
outside.  When  the  land  is  taken  up  by  homesteaders  it  is 
but  the  beginning.  Everyone  is  obliged  to  begin  from  the 
ground  up.  Each  settler  must  build  a  barn  instead  of 
inheriting  one  from  his  am*estors.  Houses  to  live  in,  school- 
houses  for  the  children,  courthouses,  public  business  build- 


DEMOCRACY'S  FOUNDATIONS  27 

ings,  churches,  parsonages,  roads,  fences,  bridges,  culverts — 
everything  must  be  provided  at  once.  It  is  a  staggering  task, 
but  it  must  be  done.  Public  buildings  may  be  built  out  of  the 
proceeds  of  bond  issues  and  the  cost  passed  on  to  another 
generation.  Mercantile  houses,  elevators,  and  banks  may 
be  built  on  credit.  And  the  local  church  is  at  a  great  disad- 
vantage unless  the  church  at  large  can  be  drawn  on  for  sub- 
stantial assistance.  This  is  the  raison  d'etre  for  home  mis- 
sion and  church  extension  aid. 

Modern  methods  of  communication  and  transportation 
have  caused  increased  rapidity  in  frontier  development  in 
recent  years.  The  map  is  ever  changing.  The  town  of 
Richey,  Montana,  is  an  illustration.  The  secretary  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  writes  that  **  lots  were  sold  on  August 
18, 1916,  and  our  town  is  only  eighteen  months  old.  We  have 
a  population  of  about  450,  with  forty  business  places  divided 
among  every  possible  enterprise.  There  are  five  grain 
elevators,  two  steam-heated  hotels,  three  poolrooms,  two 
garages,  four  hardware  stores,  four  restaurants,  three 
lawyers,  three  land  officers,  two  banks  with  over  $120,000 
each,  two  drug  stores,  four  general  stores,  two  blacksmith 
shops,  a  bakery,  a  dentist,  a  bowling  alley  and  shooting 
gallery,  a  brick  moving-picture  theater,  five  lumber  yards,  a 
confectionery,  a  shoe-repairing  shop,  a  theater  and  dance- 
hall  combined,  a  two-room  and  concrete  basement  school 
with  about  fifty  pupils  and  two  teachers,  two  butcher  shops, 
and  one  church  with  a  very  small  attendance. ' ' 

It  is  the  last  item  which  sounds  a  challenge  to  Christian 
democracy.  The  very  rapidity  of  modern  frontier  growth 
accentuates  the  need  for  promptness.  And  Methodism  must 
be  alert  to  hear  the  cry.  Help  for  the  adequate  presentation 
of  the  message  of  the  Christ  must  be  given  from  outside  the 
community.  The  church  which  renders  largest  service  will 
be  the  church  which  is  on  hand  with  its  ministry  of  inspira- 
tion and  help  when  the  community  is  just  starting.  Material 
development  must  have  first  call  with  people  in  new  com- 
munities.   But  as  soon  as  the  first  stress  is  over  they  are 


28      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

able  and  willing  to  support  their  own  church  enterprises. 
The  church  problem  is  therefore  urgent.  With  the  rapidity 
of  material  development  due  to  railroad  and  telegraph  facil- 
ities the  urgency  increases.  Shall  the  church  hold  back? 
Has  it  not  as  adventurous  a  spirit  as  investors  in  Western 
stocks  and  bonds?  Adequate  leadership  to  mold  the  life  of 
the  community  in  the  ways  of  Christian  democracy  while 
still  plastic  is  needed.  Shall  not  some  of  the  money  sent 
East  from  the  enterprise  of  the  West  be  returned  in  the  form 
of  leadership  of  this  character? 

The  failure  of  the  church  to  be  prompt  in  its  statesman- 
ship decreases  the  power  of  the  nation  to  lead  the  people  of 
the  earth  in  the  finest  ways  of  life  and  thinking.  It  also  ac- 
counts for  some  of  the  church  and  national  problems  which 
will  have  to  be  met  by  succeeding  generations.  There  is  rea- 
son to  believe  that  the  failure  of  the  evanglical  church  to 
enter  Northern  California  in  force  and  with  adequate  or- 
ganization in  the  decade  1849-59,  when  social  life  was  in  flux, 
is  responsible  for  the  slow  growth  of  Christian  idealism 
there  during  the  years  since.  And  had  home  missionaries 
been  sent  in  adequate  force  to  the  moving  population  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley  in  1830,  there  would  doubtless  be  no 
Mormon  problem  such  as  exists  to-day. 

Along  with  the  newness  and  rapidity  of  development  of 
the  frontier  goes  the  element  of  chance.  The  adventurous 
spirit  still  has  an  opportunity  to  try  his  luck.  Uncertainty 
shadows  every  dream  of  success.  In  fruit  sections  there 
must  be  unceasing  warfare  waged  against  insects.  The  diffi- 
culties of  marketing  have  to  be  overcome.  Often  irrigation 
engineers  underestimate  the  cost  of  a  project.  This  means 
that  the  settler  must  pay  much  more  than  he  had  anticipated. 
Ditches  may  break  or  the  dams  go  out  through  faulty  con- 
struction. The  building  of  a  proposed  railroad  may  be  de- 
layed for  years.  Drought  may  come  in  dry-farming  sec- 
tions. Even  in  agricultural  communities  the  settlers  learn 
to  take  a  chance.  What  a  jilace  for  the  church  to  build  its 
foundations  into  the  lives  of  men  and  women  I    Inasmuch  as 


DEMOCRACY'S  FOUNDATIONS 


29 


A  TEN-YEAR  STUDY  OF  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  FRONTIER 
ENGLISH-SPEAKING  WORK 


the  world  is  the  parish  of  the  Metliodist  Episcopal  Church, 
what  matters  it  that  here  and  there  an  enterprise  is  started 
and  the  people  have  to  give  up  and  move  away  1  These  folks 
are  going  to  live  somewhere.  They  will  take  the  Kingdom 
with  them. 

A  Challenge  from  the  Mines 

This  element  of  chance  and  the  worthwhileness  of  tak- 


30      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

ing  it  is  particularly  true  in  mining  communities,  especially 
those  where  high-grade  ores  are  found.  There  is  a  town  in 
Utah  which  illustrates  this.  At  one  time  it  was  fourth  in  size 
in  the  State.  In  1900  it  had  a  population  of  2,351.  In  1910 
there  were  but  1,047.  To-day  the  population  numbers  two, 
and  they  are  hired  watchmen.  For  a  number  of  years  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  maintained 
a  Methodist  church  there,  and  still  owns  the  church  property. 
Shall  the  word  ''failure"  be  painted  on  the  church  door  and 
across  the  record  of  the  men  whose  judgment  fathered  the 
enterprise  ?  The  field  moved  away.  But  the  influence  of  the 
ministry  of  that  church  is  to-day  blessing  other  commu- 
nities. And  two  of  the  laymen  who  once  worked  in  this 
church  are  now  district  superintendents  in  other  Western 
States  a  thousand  miles  away. 

Even  when  the  community  does  not  move  away  it  is 
difficult  to  build  up  strong  and  stable  churches  in  mining 
centers.  For  one  thing,  the  spirit  of  restlessness  is  prev- 
alent. Some  are  leaving  and  others  coming  all  the  time. 
The  nature  of  the  miner's  occupation  contributes  somewhat 
to  recklessness  and  a  lack  of  regard  for  conventional  and 
time-honored  institutions.  Regular  habits  of  church-going 
are  interfered  with  by  the  changing  hours  of  labor.  With 
such  systems  as  the  triple  shift,  where  the  miners  work  eight 
hours  a  day  (an  excellent  thing  in  itself),  the  shift  moving 
forward  to  a  different  eight  hours  each  week,  the  preacher 
can  have  only  one  third  of  his  congregation  present  at  any 
one  time,  and  that  one  third  different  every  two  weeks.  The 
household  habits  of  the  miners  are  effected  by  the  shift  on 
which  they  work,  as  are  also  the  habits  of  their  wives  and 
children.  Moreover,  as  physical  conditions  become  more 
difficult  there  is  a  tendency  for  American,  J]nglish,  Irish,  and 
Welsh  miners  to  go  to  work  "on  top,"  or  to  leave  mining 
altogether.  The  places  of  these  are  taken  by  Italians  and 
Fins  or  any  one  of  half  a  dozen  Slavic  groups.  These  peo- 
ple are  very  hard  for  the  evangelical  church  to  reach.  So 
the  challenge  to  adventure  for  the  Kingdom  increases.    The 


DEMOCRACY'S  FOUNDATIONS  31 

opportunity  for  propagating  Christian  democracy,  while 
more  difficult,  becomes  more  necessary. 

Labor  troubles  become  frequent  with  the  change  of  per- 
sonnel of  the  miners.  The  old-time  miners  were  marked  by 
individualistic  thought  and  action.  The  newcomers,  mostly 
non-English  speaking,  are  easily  moved  by  leaders  speaking 
their  native  tongue.  The  gradual  passing  of  the  mining  in- 
terests under  the  control  of  large  corporations,  with  all  the 
evils  of  absentee  ownership  and  frequently  of  tactless  man- 
agement, has  resulted  in  serious  trouble  in  the  labor  field. 
Strikes  in  Colorado  a  few  years  ago  in  the  high-grade  mines 
had  serious  consequences,  duplicated  by  the  more  recent 
troubles  among  the  coal  miners  of  that  State.  An  ex-gov- 
ernor of  the  State  of  Idaho  was  blown  up  in  his  home  as  an 
incidental  result  of  these  same  troubles.  Such  conditions  are 
a  concern  of  the  Christian  Church.  A  democracy  that  is  rife 
with  struggles  between  classes  of  any  character  will  not 
bring  comfort  and  encouragement  to  people  of  other  lands. 
It  is  decidedly  un-American,  to  say  nothing  about  its  being 
unchristian.  Who  has  failed  at  this  point  in  the  under- 
taking to  bring  practice  up  to  the  ideals  cherished  f  In  Rock 
Springs,  a  small  mining  community  in  Wyoming,  twenty-six 
different  languages  are  spoken.  Who  has  neglected  the  task 
of  Americanization?  How  will  democracy  get  a  chance  in 
such  a  place!  Has  not  the  spiritual  commonwealth  where 
all  men  meet  as  equal  before  God  a  decided  mission  right 
here? 

Unless  our  democracy  is  Christian  at  heart  labor 
troubles  will  continue  forever.  In  Utah  labor  unions  have 
little  standing  or  influence.  The  lot  of  the  laboring  mail 
there  is  not  what  it  should  be.  In  Montana  the  passing  away 
of  the  Western  Federation  of  Miners  was  followed  by  a 
period  of  industrial  anarchy.  This  has  only  recently  settled 
down  to  a  certain  extent.  In  Bisbee,  Arizona,  in  the  summer 
of  1917,  the  miners  were  forbidden  to  join  the  American  Fed- 
eration of  Labor.  The  I.  W.  W.  saw  the  open  door,  quietly 
organized  the  men,  and  a  strike  followed  which  seriously 


32      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

handicapped  the  government  in  its  task  of  winning  the  war. 
The  town  officials,  many  of  them  influential  in  mining  com- 
panies, took  a  hand.  They  loaded  more  than  eleven  hundred 
of  the  strikers  and  some  supplies  on  cattle  cars  and  shipped 
them  into  the  desert  of  New  Mexico.  This  illegal  and  un- 
democratic action  not  only  embittered  the  laboring  men  of 
Arizona,  but  also  had  deleterious  effects  upon  the  morale  of 
the  shipbuilders  and  lumber  workers  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 
The  finding  of  indictments  against  those  responsible  for  the 
deporting  of  their  fellows  does  not  lessen  the  responsibility 
of  those  who  failed  to  make  such  a  proceeding  impossible. 

Shall  the  problems  presented  in  such  communities  be 
labeled  '*  A  difficult  task,"  or  shall  the  forces  of  Christianity 
be  marshaled  in  a  great  adventure  for  Christian  democracy! 
What  is  the  adventure?  A  field  to  be  made  Christian  and 
American  where  families  are  broken  uj)  and  have  to  leave ; 
the  strengthening  of  sadly  interrupted  social  and  community 
work ;  the  putting  of  the  ideals  of  social,  moral,  and  religious 
life  into  terms  of  everyday  living;  the  creating  of  a  situation 
where  the  unfettered  message  of  Christian  truth  may  be 
uttered.  For  in  practically  all  mineral  sections  the  title  of 
church  property  is  given  by  mining  companies  only  in  the 
form  of  a  lease.  Hence  if  the  message  and  policy  of  the 
church  does  not  suit  the  mining  officials,  they  could  close  the 
church  doors  and  force  the  preacher  to  depart.  Is  there  not 
a  task  worthy  the  mettle  of  the  fathers  here?  Why  boast  of 
our  advance  over  their  day  unless  we  make  Christianity 
count  where  so  much  needed  ? 

Where  Men  Are  Alone 

And  what  of  the  cowboy  and  the  sheepherder?  For  they 
come  in  between  the  day  of  the  buffalo  and  the  day  of  the 
plow.  More  than  400,000,000  acres  are  still  available  for 
stockraising  purposes.  The  largest  section  of  this  sort  is  in 
central  Oregon,  where  one  may  travel  for  two  hundred  miles 
without  crossing  a  railroad.  In  regions  wholly  given  to 
stockraising  it  is  difficult  to  establish  and  maintain  churches. 


DEMOCRACY'S  FOUNDATIONS       33 

Few  cowboys  or  sheepherders  are  married.  Where  there 
are  no  families  there  is  no  settled  community.  And  where 
there  is  no  community  there  can  be  no  normal  church.  But 
the  needs  of  these  men  are  as  great,  if  not  greater,  than  those 
of  men  in  favored  communities.  The  traveling  missionary 
has  here  his  opportunity.  And  he  must  be  busy  at  his  task 
as  long  as  stockraising  sections  exist.  The  tendency  is  for 
these  sections  to  pass  over  into  agriculture.  Then  the  regu- 
lar ministry  of  the  church  will  have  an  opportunity  to  prove 
its  usefulness. 

Nor  must  the  lumber  camp  and  sawmill  town  be  for- 
gotten. Here  the  work  is  seasonal  and  the  workmen  tran- 
sients. Many  of  these  men  are  unmarried.  Not  a  few  of 
them  come  to  think  that  they  are  without  standing  in  society 
and  thus  offer  a  fruitful  field  for  I.  W.  W.  propaganda. 
The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  a  few  churches  in 
lumbering  communities,  but  up  to  the  present  very  little 
special  work  has  been  done  among  the  lumber  workers.  At 
the  present  time  there  are  350,000  men  engaged  in  the  lumber 
industry  in  the  West.  The  amount  of  timber  still  standing 
is  so  great  that  it  will  take  many  years  to  cut  it  down  and 
work  it  up.  One  denomination  has  realized  the  need  of 
church  workers  for  these  men  and  has  ten  missionaries  in 
the  lumber  towns  and  camps.  But  what  are  ten  missionaries 
for  350,000  lumberjacks  1  Shall  we  say  that  the  obligation  is 
being  met  and  pass  it  by  ? 

A  Summons  to  the  Church* 

There  are  other  variants  of  the  frontier  task.  For  pur- 
poses of  administration  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in- 
cludes in- its  frontier  work  the  Indian,  the  Mormons,  the 
Spanish- American,  Porto  Rico,  Hawaii,  and  Alaska.  But  of 
these  a  little  later.  Their  needs  vary.  The  general  problem 
for  the  frontier  is  the  securing  of  larger  initial  gifts  for  the 
building  of  churches  and  parsonages,  and  larger  rooms 
where  they  are  needed.    The  rectangular  church  used  purely 


34      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

for  purposes  of  worship  is  not  much  in  demand  these  days. 
With  no  special  facilities  for  religious  education  or  social 
life  it  makes  but  small  appeal  alongside  of  the  modern,  well- 
equipped,  consolidated  public  school.  The  Centenary  of 
Methodist  Missions  gives  the  opportunity  to  install  equip- 
ment that  is  adequate  from  the  beginning,  and  thus  control 
community  life  in  a  dignified  way.  Such  a  thing  has  been 
dreamed  for  years  by  those  who  have  seen  the  need.  Have 
we  come  to  a  day  when  dreams  of  the  Kingdom  come  true! 

Social  service  is  a  dream  materialized.  It  must  be  more 
and  more  a  part  of  such  ministry  as  the  church  gives  to  the 
families  of  railroad,  mining,  and  smelting  settlements.  Here 
and  in  the  lumber  camps  a  considerable  part  of  the  popula- 
tion is  foreign-speaking  and  the  intellectual  and  religious 
background  either  sacerdotal  or  agnostic.  Structures  which 
offer  unusual  opportunities  for  community  service  must  be 
erected  in  these  places.  Staff  workers  of  peculiar  fitness 
must  be  provided.  There  is  practically  no  limit  to  the  needs 
of  this  character  in  the  church's  great  frontier. 

The  good  old  days  of  the  pioneer  preacher  are  gone. 
But  the  task  has  not  vanished  with  him.  The  bustling  Ford 
has  taken  the  place  of  the  trusty  nag.  A  college  and  semi- 
nary training  must  supplant  the  knowledge  gathered  along 
the  journey  from  one  community  to  another.  The  sod 
church  and  the  log  meetinghouse  no  longer  suffice.  Tliere  is 
practically  no  community  in  the  United  States  but  what 
needs  a  more  efficient  ministry  of  the  Word  of  God  than  it 
now  has.  And  when  it  comes  to  the  vast  sections  which  are 
called  frontier  the  need  is  alarming.  But  it  takes  a  goodly 
amount  of  money  suddenly  to  equip  the  church  for  its  real 
task  of  Christianizing  the  democracy  of  the  country.  And 
the  church  has  no  private  purse.  It  is  dependent  upon  its 
membership  for  those  funds  which  it  may  use  to  spread  its 
ministry  into  those  places  where  there  is  at  the  present  time 
no  adequate  ministry,  and  to  make  more  efficient  its  ministry 
where  for  years  it  has  existed  along  the  lines  of  the  ex- 
pressed needs  of  the  times  of  our  fathers. 


DEMOCRACY'S  FOUNDATIONS       35 

But  what  is  the  question  of  money  in  a  time  like  ours? 
In  celebrating  the  Centenary  of  Methodist  Missions  the 
leaders  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  are  seeking  to 
discover  what  its  obligation  is  in  the  stupendous  task  for 
making  the  world  safe  for  democracy.  The  nation  is  asking 
the  church  that  it  help  to  develop  a  democracy  that  is  worth 
fighting  for  to  make  safe  the  world  over.  This  cannot  be 
done  in  any  small  retail  way.  There  must  be  a  steady  and 
rapid  advance.  Equipment  and  men  must  be  provided  in 
large  quantities.  Such  advance  must  be  made  that  there  will 
be  a  definite  realization  on  the  part  of  those  who  do  not  yet 
accept  God  as  their  God,  that  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  is 
desperately  in  earnest.  The  challenge  must  be  met  so  that 
people  everywhere  shall  understand  that  so  far  as  its  part  of 
the  undertaking  is  concerned,  this  nation  shall  of  a  truth 
have  a  democracy  of  the  sort  that  will  be  worth  dying  for  in 
order  that  it  may  not  perish  from  the  earth. 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  In  what  sense  has  America  become  the  spokesman 
for  world  democracy! 

2.  How  does  the  background  of  our  national  life  em- 
phasize the  necessity  of  this  democracy's  being  Christian? 

3.  In  what  way  has  Methodism  been  a  force  for  Chris- 
tian democracy? 

4.  Discuss  President  Roosevelt's  tribute  to  the  circuit 
rider. 

5.  What  is  "comprised  in  the  modern  frontier? 

6.  What  lands  are  available  now  for  settlement?  Dis- 
cuss the  part  played  by  irrigation  in  the  settling  of  the  West. 

7.  What  are  the  chief  characteristics  of  the  modern 
frontier  ? 

8.  What  challenge  to  the  church  comes  from  conditions 
in  western  mining  sections? 

9.  Discuss  the  obligation  of  the  church  to  the  cowboy 
and  sheepherder,  the  lumberjack  and  sawmill  operative. 

10.  How  important  is  the  sumpions  which  comes  to  the 


36      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church  on  the  one  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  its  missionary  work? 

11.  Why  must  the  church  make  democracy  worth  the 
terrible  sacrifice  of  lives  being  made  to  preserve  it! 

12.  In  what  way  does  the  spreading  of  Christian  de- 
mocracy become  our  personal  concern? 


It  has  been  assumed  by  many  students  of  social  phenomena  that 
the  relations  to  be  found  in  rural  life  are  relatively  simple;  and  that 
urban  life  presents  much  more  serious  problems  for  solution  as  well 
as  a  much  richer  field  for  the  study  of  the  play  of  social  forces.  Those 
most  familiar  with  the  social  reactions  in  rural  life  agree  that,  while 
the  problems  they  present  may  be  of  a  somewhat  different  type,  they 
are  no  less  rich  in  the  contribution  they  promise  to  the  solution  of  some 
of  the  greatest  practical  questions  of  social  theory.  They  also  pre- 
sent a  strong  appeal  to  the  student  of  social  science  because  the 
^mall  community,  well  organized,  promises  to  become  a  very  important 
factor  in  future  social  organization  because  of  its  firm  foundation  in 
the  inherited  instincts  of  the  race.  No  problems  of  social  relationships 
present  a  better  source  for  study  than  do  the  associations  to  be  found 
in  village  and  rural  life. — Paul  L.  Vogt,  in  Introduction  to  Rural 
Sociology. 

Why  blame  the  village  poolroom  because  the  boys  and  young  men 
spend  their  evenings  there?  They  enjoy  the  click  of  the  pool  balls  and 
the  ragtime  music  of  the  player  piano.  Why  find  fault  at  the  swap- 
ping of  unseemly  stories  at  the  general  store  at  Hank's  Corner?  The 
men  have  a  good  time  and  it  is  a  great  treat  for  the  small  boy.  Why 
raise  a  howl  at  the  opening  of  a  dance  hall  at  Peters  Creek  or  a  "movie" 
theater  at  Bensons?  The  people  who  back  these  enterprises  in  response 
to  the  social  needs  of  rural  life  have  scored  against  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ  at  an  important  point;  they  have  catered  to  human 
interest  and  have  gotten  results. — The  Church  at  the  Center. 

Next  to  war,  pestilence,  and  famine,  the  worst  thing  that  can 
happen  to  a  rural  community  is  absentee  landlordism.  In  the  first  place, 
the  rent  is  all  collected  and  sent  out  of  the  neighborhood  to  be  spent 
somewhere  else;  but  that  is  the  least  of  the  evils.  In  the  second  place, 
there  is  no  one  in  the  neighborhood  who  has  any  permanent  interest 
in  it  except  as  a  source  of  income.  The  tenants  do  not  feel  like  spend- 
ing any  time  or  money  in  beautification,  or  in  improving  the  moral  or 
social  surroundings.  Their  one  interest  is  to  get  as  large  an  income 
from  the  land  as  they  can  in  the  immediate  present.  Because  they  do 
not  live  there,  the  landlords  care  nothing  for  the  community,  except  as 
a  source  of  rent,  and  they  will  not  spend  anything  in  local  improve- 
ments unless  they  see  that  it  will  increase  rent.  Therefore  such  a 
community  looks  bad,  and  possesses  the  legal  minimum  in  the  way 
of  schools,  churches,  and  other  agencies  for  social  improvement.  In 
the  third  place,  and  worst  of  all,  the  landlords  and  tenants  live  so  far 
apart  and  see  one  another  so  infrequently  as  to  furnish  very  little 
opportunity  for  mutual  acquaintance  and  understanding.  Therefore 
class  antagonism  arises,  and  bitterness  of  feeling  shows  itself  in  a 
variety  of  ways. — Thomas  Nixon  Carver. 


CHAPTER  n 
THE  RURAL  OPPORTUNITY 

A  Challenge  to  Christian  Democracy 

Democracy  knows  no  local  boundaries.  It  thrives 
wherever  people  grasp  the  significance  of  its  meaning.  Free 
discussion  of  its  doctrines  stir  the  people  of  rural  commu- 
nities just  as  it  does  the  men  and  women  on  the  busy  city 
streets.  And  in  the  rural  sections  is  one  of  the  greatest  op- 
portunities for  making  democracy  Christian  that  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  has  before  it,  for  to-day  the  bulk  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  United  States  is  in  the  open  country,  the  village, 
and  the  small  town.  These  communities  have  not  yet 
reached  the  fullest  development  in  community  consciousness. 
The  mind  of  the  people  has  been  more  centered  on  the  indi- 
vidual struggle  for  existence  than  is  the  case  in  larger  towns 
and  cities.  The  opportunity  to  have  a  part  in  the  rapid  de- 
velopment which  is  now  bound  to  come  not  only  presents  an 
opportunity,  it  also  speaks  in  terms  of  a  challenge  which 
must  be  met  for  the  larger  interests  of  the  national  life.  For 
out  of  the  53  7/10  per  cent  of  the  folk  power  of  the  land  will 
come  thousands  of  the  youth  who  will  be  determining  factors 
in  the  policies  which  our  country  will  adopt  for  years  to 
come.  Shall  their  vision  be  built  entirely  on  the  teachings  of 
statesmen,  or  shall  the  message  of  the  prophet  also  enter  into 
the  conceptions  of  democracy  which  shall  drive  them  to 
action?  It  is  for  the  rural  church  to  answer,  and  back  of  the 
local  rural  church  the  great  denominations  which  the  local 
church  represents. 

Methodism  's  Rural  Heritage 

The  rural  church  has  been  a  part  of  the  life  of  Meth- 
odism from  its  very  beginning.    Following  the  little  groups 

39 


40      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

of  pioneers  westward  across  the  Alleghenies  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  finally  to  the  coast,  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  has  pitched  its  tent  wherever  a  handful  of  settlers 
have  made  a  clearing  and  built  them  homes.  The  great 
number  of  these  little  hamlets  which  had  to  be  ministered  to 
made  the  circuit  system  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
^one  of  the  important  living  links  between  these  people.  We 
are  accustomed  to  speak  of  these  settlements  in  the  West  as 
frontier  communities.  They  are  both  frontier  and  rural. 
Into  the  life  of  such  communities  both  East  and  West  the 
circuit  rider  went  preaching  a  kingdom  of  God  which  could 
be  exemplified  in  a  practical  Christian  democracy  on  earth. 

Many  of  these  rural  communities  of  other  days  have  re- 
mained rural.  The  village  store  has  been  the  public  forum. 
The  local  lodge  has  been  the  fraternal  tie  which  has  united 
the  people.  Many  of  our  rural  communities  have  not  yet  a 
church  building  wherein  they  may  worship  God.  Hundreds 
of  such  communities,  having  a  church  building  or  a  school- 
house  where  preaching  is  conducted,  do  not  have  a  resident 
pastor,  and  the  number  of  rundown  and  ramshackle  rural 
churches  throughout  the  land  is  a  cause  for  shame.  While 
the  farmer  has  been  replacing  his  ancient  farm  tools  with 
modern  farm  implements  he  has  not  always  used  the  same 
wisdom  with  reference  to  his  church.  In  many  places  he  has 
been  satisfied  to  drive  to  church  in  an  automobile  and  wor- 
ship God  in  a  building  whose  condition  would  disqualify  it 
for  either  garage  or  stable.  Religious  conditions  which  have 
resulted  from  the  failure  of  the  church  to  keep  pace  with 
other  forms  of  advance  have  already  caused  a  decay  in  rural 
life  in  some  sections  of  the  country.  And  where  the  general 
life  of  a  community  is  lowered  the  dream  of  democracy  fades 
away. 

The  evidence  of  neglect  of  the  spiritual  foundations 
of  democracy  in  rural  communities  is  appalling.  When  a 
community  erects  a  $3,000  church  building  alongside  of  a 
$50,000  schoolhouse  it  is  apparent  that  true  perspective  of 
life's  realities  is  lacking.    The  decline  in  church  membership 


42      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

and  attendance  at  religious  worship  speaks  for  itself,  while 
the  gradual  abandonment  of  the  observance  of  religious  wor- 
ship in  the  home  indicates  unmistakably  that  other  things 
have  taken  first  place.  The  implication  is  that  other  agencies 
than  the  church  are  fitted  to  meet  the  demands  of  rural 
people.  The  school  becomes  the  center  of  social  and  recrea- 
tional activities  and  farm  associations  assume  the  leadership 
in  the  advancement  of  rural  civilization. 

Not  All  Agricultural 

The  same  general  conditions  prevail  whether  we  think 
of  the  rural  section  only  in  terms  of  agriculture  or  in  the 
more  accurate  broader  sense.  To  many  the  term  "rural*"  is 
synonymous  with  "agriculture."  But  the  village,  which  is 
the  center  of  all  rural  life,  is  not  restricted  to  farming  com- 
munities. There  are  the  coal  mining  sections  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  the  West ;  the  iron  mines 
of  the  South  and  the  North ;  the  copper  mines  of  Michigan ; 
the  oil  fields  of  Oklahoma,  Kansas,  and  Texas ;  the  coke  vil- 
lages and  many  other  types  of  small  industrial  communities 
engaged  in  the  extraction  of  minerals.  Over  1,000,000 
miners  in  America,  more  than  half  of  whom  are  foreign  born 
and  who  represent  a  population  of  at  least  3,000,000,  do  not 
have  the  adequate  religious  services  to  help  them  in  the  great 
adventure  of  becoming  assimilated  to  the  practice  of  Chris- 
tian democracy.  In  the  coke  fields  of  western  Pennsylvania 
alone  there  are  over  100  mining  and  coke  villages  with  a 
population  of  over  70,000  which  have  no  church  of  any  de- 
nomination, and  in  some  religious  services  can  be  held  in 
schoolhouses  but  four  months  in  the  year.  The  gospel  of 
social  justice  has  small  chance  under  such  conditions.  The 
incentive  to  wholesome  living  and  the  support  of  the  institu- 
tions which  minister  to  them  is  lacking.  The  occasional  out- 
bursts of  irrational  thinking  and  violent  action  are  not  to 
be  wondered  at.  Attempts  to  Americanize  these  men  and 
women  by  the  agencies  of  the  State  must  be  augmented  by 
a  continuous  application  of  the  message  of  the  church. 


THE  RURAL  OPPORTUNITY 


43 


The  Southern  Mountaineers 

The  quiet  hamlets  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains,  inhab- 
ited by  people  so  frequently  referred  to  as  Southern  moun- 


44      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

taineers,  are  another  type  of  rural  community.  The  world 
has  rushed  by  many  of  these  folks.  They  are  not  familiar 
with  the  ways  of  the  now.  Many  of  their  homes  are  the 
shacks  of  long  ago.  Style  does  not  disturb  the  women,  learn- 
ing is  not  grasped  at.  But  these  people  are  also  a  part  of  the 
future  of  the  nation.  And  their  views,  if  belated,  will  hinder 
the  onward  march  toward  a  day  when  intelligence  char- 
acterizes the  democracy  of  ihe  land. 

Negroes  In  Rural  Communities 

The  majority  of  the  Negroes  of  the  United  States  live  in 
rural  communities.  Much  of  the  religious  ministry  which 
they  receive  is  preaching  once  a  month  by  an  absentee 
pastor.  Can  illiteracy  and  immorality  be  overcome  in  this 
haphazard  way?  Will  the  handicaps  of  superstition,  poor 
health,  lack  of  thrift,  poverty  and  debt  be  pushed  aside 
through  such  intermittent  teaching?  Shall  the  effects  of 
political  and  economic  discrimination  be  left  for  them  to 
wrestle  with  alone,  or  shall  such  leadership  be  provided  as 
will  gradually  create  a  more  just  attitude  of  mind  on  the  one 
hand  and  a  better  fitting  for  the  solution  of  problems  on  the 
other? 

What  a  Rural  Survey  Revealed 

A  concrete  putting  of  the  rural  problem  is  found  in  a 
survey  made  of  a  Conference  district  by  a  competent  student 
of  rural  life.  It  demonstrates  the  fact  that  the  larger 
wisdom  of  the  Church  as  a  whole  must  be  put  at  the  disposal 
of  the  local  community.  The  existence  of  dilapidated  old 
schoolhouses,  plasterless  shell  or  log  huts  is  no  more  condu- 
cive to  live  economic  and  religious  conditions  than  is  the 
announcement  of  nine  church  bells  on  Sunday  morning 
within  a  radius  of  a  mile  and  a  half  that  the  community  is 
all  split  up  in  its  thinking.  But  the  chief  factor  found  is  the 
indifference  to  the  religious  problems  of  the  community  as 
a  whole.  This  is  due  in  some  cases  to  isolation  and  in  others 
to  the  individualistic  tendency  of  rural  life.    Here  religion  is 


GRANDFATHER'S  RURAL  CHURCH 
A  MODERN  CHURCH  IN  A  RURAL  COMMUNITY 


THE  RUEAL  OPPORTUNITY  45 

strictly  individualistic.  To  many  of  these  people  it  is  still 
in  the  near-primitive  form  of  superstition.  It  is  something 
which  should  act  as  a  magic  help  to  individual  life  rather 
than  as  a  practical  uplifting  agency  for  the  community. 
There  is  no  conception  of  social  perfection. 

A  list  of  the  varieties  of  religion  found  in  this  district 
indicates  that  individualism  is  more  than  a  theory:  Apos- 
tolic Holiness,  Baptist-Free  Will ;  Baptist-Missionary ;  Bap- 
tist-Regular;  Baptist-United;  Catholic  (Roman) ;  Campbell- 
ite;  Christian  (often  same  as  Campbellite) ;  Christian 
Order;  Christian  Union;  Church  of  Christ  in  Christian 
Union;  Congregational  (Welsh);  Disciples;  Dunkard; 
German  Reformed;  Lutheran;  Mormon  (few);  Methodist 
(Episcopal) ;  Methodist  (Protestant) ;  Methodist  (Calvin- 
istic) ;  Nazarene;  Presbyterian;  United  Brethren;  United 
Brethren  (Radical) ;  Gravel  Grinders,  sometimes  identified 
as  Campbellites ;  Dumb  Tonguers  (who  speak  in  an  unknown 
tongue) ;  Holy  Rollers,  sometimes  called  Christians ;  Rus- 
sellites ;  and  Friends.  It  is  very  evident  that  here  religion  is 
a  personal  affair.  Too  often  such  faith  has  the  only  sure 
way  of  salvation.  This  places  one  of  a  different  denomina- 
tion in  an  embarrassing  position. 

Some  Contributory  Causes 

overchurching  and  lack  of  support 

The  particular  section  of  country  has  apparently  Ifttle 
to  do  with  conditions  existing  in  many  rural  communities, 
for  on  another  district,  in  a  section  that  in  general  is  alive  to 
all  that  is  best  in  rural  life  and  welfare,  are  found  churches 
which  are  dying  out  or  have  been  abandoned.  In  some  in- 
stances it  is  purely  the  case  of  ancestral  mistakes  in  building 
too  many  churches  in  small  communities  in  the  years  past. 
Time  has  not  yet  sufficiently  reduced  the  number.  To  this 
might  be  added  the  failure  of  those  whose  duty  to  the  church 
is  to  support  it  adequately.  There  is  on  this  same  district  a 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  that  has  steadily  declined  for 


46      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

more  than  ten  years.  The  building  erected  in  1870,  with  a 
seating  capacity  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five,  is  quite 
large  enough  to  accommodate  the  thirty  people  who  meet  on 
alternate  Sundays  to  hear  the  Word  expounded.  The  forty- 
five  members  who  represent  twenty  families  contribute  one 
hundred  dollars  a  year  to  pastoral  support.  This  sum  ap- 
pears to  be  as  fixed  as  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians. 

LOST  CONSTITUENCY :  TENANTRY 

Then  there  is  the  small  country  church  which  for  vari- 
ous reasons  has  lost  its  constituency  and  cannot  replace  this 
with  another  strong  and  virile  enough  to  continue  its  life  and 
work.  Other  rural  churches  have  been  closed  or  are  about 
to  be  closed  as  a  result  of  the  absentee  landlord  system. 
Tenant  farmers  are  but  temporary  dwellers,  and  in  a  dis- 
tressingly large  number  of  instances  have  not  actively  identi- 
fied themselves  with  religious  work.  The  owners  of  the  land, 
while  getting  their  living  from  the  farm,  have  usually  seen  fit 
to  support  the  church  in  the  town  or  city  where  they  reside. 
This  leaves  the  old  and  unpretentious  church  building  near 
the  farm  to  fall  into  disrepair,  and  the  rapidly  disappearing 
membership  to  meet  the  bills  for  current  expenses  and  min- 
isterial support  as  best  they  can.  At  length,  for  lack  of 
people  and  lack  of  funds,  the  doors  are  shut  and  the  church 
which  once  pointed  the  wayfaring  man  and  woman  heaven- 
ward becomes  but  an  unsightly  landmark  or  a  storehouse  for 
some  farmer's  grain. 

TOO  NEAR  THE  TOWNS 

Still  other  rural  churches  are  adjacent  to  a  town  which 
has  larger  and  better  houses  of  worship,  and  since  a  few 
miles  more  make  little  difference  in  these  days  of  good  roads 
and  automobiles,  families  gradually  drift  to  these  centers  of 
population  and  so  desert  the  country  church. 

The  Need  of  Rural  Vision 
The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  h^s  all  through  the 


THE  RURAL  OPPORTUNITY  47 

years  been  at  work  in  these  rural  communities.  That  it  has 
not  accomplished  all  that  it  might  is  not  a  matter  for  utter 
condemnation.  Evolutionary  processes  are  slow.  The  gen- 
eral acceptance  of  modern  farm  machinery  was  not  brought 
about  in  a  day.  And  since  the  church  in  years  past  held  its 
mission  to  be  that  of  calling  men  and  women  from  the  things 
of  this  life  to  preparation  for  a  life  beyond,  any  change  of 
conception  is  slow  of  acceptance.'  That  the  church  in  the 
rural  community  should  be  the  center  of  the  life  activities  of 
the  community  is  a  somewhat  new  idea.  Rural  sociologists 
have  touched  upon  it  and  some  church  leaders  have  held  it 
as  a  dream,  but  its  actual  acceptance  by  the  people  who  are 
''the  problem"  is  only  of  to-day,  and  this  not  in  any  wide- 
spread territory.  Yet  yearnings  for  it  are  now  seen  in  the 
longing  of  farm  men  and  women  for  a  better  type  of  life. 

When  farm  women  are  asked  directly  about  their  prob- 
lems they  generally  reply  in  one  of  three  ways.  The  first 
group,  those  who  have  been  fortunate  in  environment  and 
opportunity  for  broader  living,  are  well  content  with  the 
sweet,  joyous  country  life.  The  second  group,  and  by  far  the 
largest  one,  are  women  who  by  labor  and  strictest  economy 
raise  their  children,  help  their  husbands  in  the  monotonous 
task* of  wresting  a  living  from  the  soil,  who  ''stay  by  the 
stuff"  night  and  day  and  grow  prematurely  old  in  a  hand- 
to-hand  struggle  with  a  situation  far  too  difficult  for  the  indi- 
vidual to  master.  The  third  group  of  women  are  helpless 
and  despairing  over  a  lot  which  seldom  can  be  changed. 
They  would  like  to  have  change  and  enjoyment,  excitement 
and  life,  but  they  do  not  know  how  to  go  about  getting  what 
they  want,  nor  do  they  realize  that  fundamentally  the  solu- 
tion rests  with  themselves.  The  day  of  vision  is  far  off  for 
these  last. 

What  joy  or  hope  does  the  farmer's  wife  receive  on  Sun- 
day morning  as  she  tries  to  keep  a  pew  full  of  children  quiet 
the  while  the  minister  discourses  on  the  delights  of  the  New 
Jerusalem?  All  week  she  has  prepared  three  meals  a  day 
for  hungry  men,  washed  the  dishes,  washed  and  ironed  the 


48      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

clothes,  kept  the  house  clean  and  orderly,  fed  the  pigs  and 
the  chickens,  helped  with  the  milking,  churned,  gathered  the 
eggs,  pumpied  the  water,  taken  care  of  five  heating  stoves 
besides  the  kitchen  range  (with  two  of  the  stoves  upstairs). 
The  poetic  quotation  from  **The  Old  Oaken  Bucket"  (fifty 
feet  down  a  well,  waiting  to  be  drawn  up  with  a  windlass 
and  rope)  is  all  lost  on  her.  She  is  tired  and  will  be  glad 
when  service  is  over  and  she  can  talk  with  the  other  women 
about  storage  tanks,  hot-water  boilers,  windmills,  hot-water 
or  furnace  heat,  home  lighting  plants,  gasoline-run  washing- 
ing  machines,  wringers,  separators,  churns,  and  vacuum 
cleaners.  She  wants  to  know  the  possibilities  of  sending 
Bill  and  Mary  to  college  on  the  egg  money — she  does  not 
want  them  to  have  the  drudgery  of  the  farm.  What,  besides 
the  sermon,  is  the  church  going  to  give  her  that  she  may  look 
to  the  church  for  guidance? 

The  Rural  Church  Member  Challenged 

Here  and  there  there  have  been  rural  lay  leaders  who 
have  seen  the  need  of  what  the  new  day  in  rural  life  and  wor- 
ship is  bringing.  But  the  vision  of  church  leaders,  a  few 
rural  pastors  and  an  occasional  rural  layman,  will  not  bring 
to  pass  the  full  promise  of  the  hope  for  a  rural  life  center- 
ing in  the  worship  of  God  and  the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ 
radiating  out  from  the  church  into  all  the  community,  a 
service  to  the  last  individual  according  to  his  need.  Along 
with  the  new  vision  and  the  present  helpful  developments  in 
rural  religious  life  comes  a  sharp  challenge  to  every  rural 
church  member.  The  intense  group  spirit  must  be  broken 
up.  What  odds  is  it  to  the  Kingdom  that  we  are  Norwegian 
or  Greek?  That  the  Jacksons,  Burns,  and  our  family  all 
came  to  Beaverville  from  Layton's  Point  back  East?  Will 
the  Master  give  us  rating  as  landlord,  tenant,  or  laborer? 
Are  the  Baptist  or  Congregationalists  or  Episcopalians  or 
Methodists  each  to  have  a  special  consideration  when  they 
listen  to  hear  it  said,  "Well  done?"  Shall  the  non-church- 
goer be  classed  outside  the  pale  as  we  pray  God's  blessing  on 


THE  RUEAL  OPPORTUNITY  49 

our  family,  our  land,  our  stock,  our  church?  Must  the  new- 
comer into  the  community  establish  a  social  status  before  we 
welcome  him  to  God's  house? 

Are  we  as  keen  to  have  as  well-qualified  rural  religious 
leadership  as  we  ask  in  our  industrial  leaders?  Do  we  aim 
to  have  a  church  thoroughly  equipped  for  service  to  the  en- 
tire community  ?  Are  we  asking  for  a  first-class  ministry  and 
paying  for  second  and  third  class  ?  Do  we  make  it  necessary 
for  our  pastor  to  put  in  half  time  at  carpentering,  farming, 
or  shoe-cobbling  in  order  to  provide  for  the  legitimate  needs 
of  himself  and  his  family?  Are  we  making  our  church  plant 
available  for  community  use? 

A  Sense  of  Rural  Worth 

A  sense  of  rural  worth  must  be  developed.  Rural  lay- 
men as  well  as  rural  pastors  must  have  a  clear  view  of  the 
fundamental  aspects  of  the  rural  problem  and  broadly  de- 
fine the  relationship  of  the  church  to  that  problem.  With 
rare  exceptions  the  rural  church  has  given  of  its  best  to  the 
leadership  of  city  and  suburban  churches  and  has  fallen  so 
in  the  scale  of  public  estimation  that  church  officials  and 
ministers  alike  look  upon  the  appointment  out  of  rural  work 
as  a  promotion.  The  people  themselves  tacitly  accept  this 
estimate  of  their  own  institutions  by  allowing  their  best 
pastors  to  be  taken  from  them,  and  by  moving  from  the 
country  to  the  city  themselves  when  seeking  better  condi- 
tions of  life.  Loyalty  to  rural  life  is  a  present-day  essential. 
The  sources  of  supply  for  the  great  enterprises  of  the  land 
must  be  kept  alive  to  the  best  things  in  life  and  thinking. 
Rural  work  must  be  put  upon  a  plane  of  equality  with  all 
other  work  in  dignity  and  influence.  And  the  rural  church 
must  share  in  this  self-estimate  as  to  ability  for  service  that 
is  worth  while  doing  well. 

Salary  and  Leadership     • 

Without  doubt  the  question  of  adequate  remuneration 
for  the  rural  pastor  is  a  large  item  in  the  problem  of  bring- 


50      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

ing  the  best  sort  of  rural  ministry  to  the  rural  community. 
A  recent  study  shows  that  out  of  a  total  of  18,307  Methodist 
Episcopal  churches  in  America  12,004  are  rural,  in  commu- 
nities of  less  than  2,500  inhabitants.  Of  the  total  number  of 
rural  charges,  2,308  have  salaries  under  $400;  1,499,  $400 
to  $600;  1,905,  $600  to  $800;  2,093,  $800  to  $1,000;  1,799, 


WHY  MINISTERS  LEAVE  THE  COUNTRY 

WHITE  RURAL  MINISTERS' SALARIES 
INCLUDING  PARSONAGE 


""of4r  *800-12C» 

perYear 


4l200ormor« 
per  Year 


$1,000  to  $1,200;  2,027,  $1,200  or  over.  On  373  charges  no 
figures  are  available.  These  statistics  include  colored  and 
foreign-speaking  as  well  as  English-speaking  Conferences. 
A  significant  fact  brought  out  is  that  there  are  more  pastors 
in  the  $400-a-year  group  than  in  any  other  salary  classifica- 
tion. 

This  situation  creates  an  almost  insurmountable  diffi- 
culty. A  college-  and  seminary-trained  young  man,  who  has 
some  educational  obligations  to  meet  after  the  end  of  his 
days  of  training,  cannot  afford  to  go  into  a  rural  community, 
for  he  must  have  books :  he  must  have  some  opportunity  for 


THE  EURAL  OPPORTUNITY 


51 


seeing  other  sections  of  the  country  besides  his  own  village. 
His  wife  enjoys  pretty  clothes  as  much  as  do  the  wives  of 
the  trustees  of  the  church.  Frequently  she  is  a  college  girl 
with  all  the  vision  of  the  dreams  of  college  days,  but  this  is 
what  she  actually  sees :  Four  hundred  dollars  a  year  and  a 
square,  bandbox-shaped  parsonage,  with  a  parlor  carpet  that 


WHY  MINISTERS  LEAVE  THE  COUNTRY 

ruralcoljored  ministers* salaries 
including  parsonage 

Under$400 
perYear 

• 

/     \                  $400-1600 
/          \                   perYear 

/        872        \           /    \ 

$600-1800 
perYear        .^^^ 
over$800 

/\       perYear 

/                             \  /      ^'''^  \ 

AAA 

shrieks  at  you  the  minute  you  open  the  door ;  a  kitchen  stove 
that  gasses  so  that  she  must  cook  her  meals  with  a  wet  towel 
tied  around  her  mouth  and  nose ;  cracks  under  the  front  door 
that  let  in  snow  in  the  winter ;  a  squeaky  pump  outside  of  the 
house  which  groans  an  occasional  bucketful  of  water  up 
from  the  cistern ;  ice  to  break  in  the  washbowl  in  the  morning 
of  a  winter's  day — ^and  the  four  hundred  dollars  paid  in 
such  dilatory  manner  that  even  the  joy  of  spending  this 
small  amount  is  lost. 

Can  we  ever  hope  to  have  the  rural  minister  paid  an 
adequate  salary?    On  the  same  district  where  such  dismal 


52      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

conditions  were  found  a  statesmanlike  district  superinten- 
dent has  already  brought  to  pass  a  considerable  increase  of 
salary  for  his  ministers.  This  whole  living  problem  involves, 
an  equity  in  rural  and  urban  standards  of  living,  the  consid- 
eration of  the  rural  pastor  as  in  service  equally  as  important 
as  any  other  in  the  church  by  bishops,  district  superintend- 
ents, and  ministers. 

Living  on  the  Job 

The  Knight  of  the  Saddlebag  and  the  circuit  system  of 
the  Methodist  P]piscopal  Church  have  been  praised  in  song 
and  story,  and  rightly  so,  for  the  combination  was  the  great 
power  of  early  Methodism.  It  is  to-day  in  some  places.  Yet 
theoretically,  no  man  can  handle  a  community  effectively  if 
he  spreads  .himself  out  over  other  places,  and  a  circuit  is 
always  a  stretched-out  ministry.  But  the  circuit  system  to- 
day is  not  nearly  as  widespread  as  some  might  think.  An 
average  of  the  Conferences  shows  the  circuit  charges  to 
have  two  to  four  preaching  points.  A  Methodist  Episcopal 
minister  in  central  Tennessee  serves  twenty-one  points, 
while  in  Oregon  a  retired  minister  between  seventy-five  and 
eighty  years  of  age  has  a  circuit  of  sixty-four  school- 
houses.  In  many  places  the  circuit  system  can  be  abolislied 
to  advantage.  Many  of  the  circuit  points  could  support  a 
man  if  they  were  alive  to  the  opportunity  and  challenge 
which  the  community  offers  to  the  leadership  of  the  church. 
The  rural  pastor  who  is  solving  the  pro))lem  of  the  rural 
community,  which  differs  from  that  of  his  city  brother 
fundamentally  in  the  matter  of  organization  rather  than  in 
the  people,  lives  on  the  job.  He  is  making  the  church  a  vital- 
izing and  fundamental  agency  for  rural  redirection.  The 
rural  religious  problem  has  responded  so  finely  to  the  steady 
leadership  of  a  wise  settled  ])astor  that  the  challenge  is  com- 
manding the  attention  of  the  church.  There  are  sections  of 
the  country,  however,  where  the  circuit  system  must  be  en- 
couraged. 

Larger  results  will  accrue  when  the  community  rather 


THE  EUEAL  OPPORTUNITY  53 

than  the  ministry  is  the  first  consideration  in  making  ap- 
pointments at  the  sessions  of  the  Annual  Conferences.  Of 
course  this  involves  an  esprit  de  corps  among  the  leader- 
ship and  ministry  of  the  church  developed  on  the  assurance 
of  a  democracy  of  talent  in  the  matter  of  appointment,  pro- 
motion and  similar  relationships.  If  a  man  feels  that  the 
acceptance  of  a  $400  rural  appointment  places  him  in  the 
$400  classification  forever,  he  very  justly  might  object  to 
taking  such  appointment,  and  could  not  be  blamed  if  he  spent 
some  time  thinking  how  he  might  get  an  opportunity  to 
"move."  The  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Exten- 
sion must  aid  in  supporting  pastors  serving  charges  now 
paying  low  salaries  because  of  former  poor  service  or  of 
undeveloped  resources,  until  they  can  be  brought  to  self- 
support.  The  best  ministers  in  Methodism  should  be  found 
in  the  hardest  places. 

A  great  deal  is  written  and  said  these  days  about  the 
necessity  of  a  long  pastorate  in  city  churches.  The  need  is 
no  less  urgent  in  the  rural  community,  A  minister  must  be 
in  a  place  long  enough  to  become  known,  to  know  the  people, 
to  become  a  part  of  the  community  life,  to  be  trusted  in 
matters  of  judgment  concerning  community  affairs,  before 
he  can  grow  into  a  place  of  leadership  which  will  be  recog- 
nized and  followed.  There  are  some  places  where  men  have 
stayed  a  lifetime  in  a  rural  parish.  They  have  thus  become  a 
dominating  influence  in  the  lives  of  most  of  the  people  who 
have  been  a  part  of  the  community  during  the  years. 

Is  THE  Rural  Field  Missionary? 

The  development  of  the  missionary  spirit  among  the 
ministry  in  rural  work  is  essential,  and  this  in  order  that 
they  will  work  for  those  things  which  they  recognize  as  lack- 
ing in  rural  life  which  they  believe  other  communities  enjoy. 
This  raises  the  question  as  to  whether  rural  work  is  really 
missionary  work  in  so  far  as  it  has  the  task  of  bringing  the 
whole  of  life  to  the  rural  community. 

It  is  the  task  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church 


54      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

Extension  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  aid  rural 
communities  in  the  efficient  development  of  the  religious 
life  they  need  to  conserve  the  best  elements  of  a  safe  civiliza- 
tion. It  must  help  to  stimulate  that  love  for  the  best  things 
which  unrestrained  economic  life  is  apt  to  lose.  It  must  pre- 
serve that  recognition  of  man's  dependence  upon  a  divinity 
which  is  so  essential  an  element  in  any  civilization  and  with- 
out which  civilization  is  apt  to  be  hollow,  false,  and  without 
an  abiding  hope,  to  protect  it  from  the  deterioration  which 
has  marked  pagan  civilizations  throughout  all  history. 

One  cause  for  failure  on  the  part  of  the  rural  church  in 
the  past  has  been  its  lack  of  emphasis  upon  life  as  a  whole. 
It  failed  to  recognize  that  a  wholesome  religious  life  will  not 
be  found  in  an  inferior  economic  and  social  environment. 
All  must  be  developed  together.  The  church  should  be 
recognized  as  the  great  community  leader  in  civilization. 

The  business  of  the  church  so  far  as  rural  life  is  con- 
cerned is  to  aid  in  bringing  rural  folk  back  again  to  that 
standard  of  dignity  and  importance  they  once  held,  and  to 
bring  to  the  uttermost  corners  of  the  open  country  those  con- 
ditions which  make  possible  the  purpose  of  the  Master  when 
he  said,  '*I  am  come  that  they  might  have  life,  and  that  they 
might  have  it  more  abundantly. ' '  The  economic  problems  of 
the  farmer  have  been  largely  solved.  But  the  enrichment  of 
rural  life  with  wholesome  forms  of  expression  still  awaits 
the  leadership  of  the  church.  And,  unless  the  church  per- 
forms its  duty,  increased  wealth  may  come  to  mean  de- 
terioration of  the  American  people  instead  of  becoming  a 
blessing. 

Some  Necessary  Adjustments 

Better  organization  to  meet  changed  conditions  result- 
ing from  shifts  in  population  must  be  instituted.  Over- 
churching  and  interdenominational  competition  must  be 
overcome.  Lay  leadership  must  be  again  encouraged.  In 
meeting  the  interdenominational  situation  it  is  found  that 
the  union  church  is  not  favored  by  any  denomination.    It  is 


THE  RURAL  OPPORTUNITY  55 

self-centered  and  has  no  missionary  viewpoint.  Trading  off 
— that  is  a  Baptist  and  a  Methodist  Episcopal  church  ex- 
changing the  field  in  two  different  j)laces,  the  Baptist  to  give 
up  the  work  entirely  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  congrega- 
tion at  A  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  to  give  up  the 
work  entirely  to  the  Baptist  congregation  at  B,  has  proved 
successful.  Federation  is  desirable  where  trading  off  or 
merging  into  one  denomination  is  not  possible.  The  weak- 
ness in  this  form  of  meeting  the  problem  from  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  point  of  view  lies  in  the  conflict  between  the 
principle  of  connectional  organization  represented  by  Meth- 
odism and  the  congregational  polity  resulting  from  federa- 
tion. 

The  affiliated  membership  plan  now  in  use  on  the  Rock 
Island  District  is  proving  to  be  very  successful.  It  appears 
to  be  specially  suited  to  all  communities  in  which  Methodism 
has  the  predominant  responsibility  but  which  contain  mem- 
bers of  other  churches  who  do  not  care  to  give  up  their  mem- 
bership in  their  own  denominations.  It  is  a  distinct  contri- 
bution to  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  interdenominational 
competition  because  it  does  not  destroy  the  connectional  or- 
ganization. 

Teaining  a  Rural,  Ministry 

When  all  is  said,  the  success  of  a  rural  pastorate  de- 
pends upon  the  rural  pastt)r.  He  must  be  rurally  trained  for 
his  task.  The  sending  of  young  ministers  to  rural  commu- 
nities for  their  first  parishes  as  a  sort  of  training  for  city 
work  has  gone  on  almost  indefinitely.  The  young  preacher 
has  gained  some  experience,  the  church  in  the  country  has 
learned  the  virtue  of  patience,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  successive 
pastors  of  this  sort  have  left  anything  very  definite  in  the 
life  of  the  rural  community.  To-day  the  need  for  a  specially 
trained  rural  minister  is  seen.  To  meet  this  demand  an  ade- 
quate system  of  recruiting  and  training  for  the  rural  min- 
istry is  necessary.  This  is  being  met  in  part  by  the  chairs  of 
rural  sociology  in  our  theological  seminaries  and  the  rural 


-2 

1 

-  1 

«0 

«;       a 

,2 

1 

1 

5  ? 

§ 

9 

8 

THE  RURAL  OPPORTUNITY  57 

institutes  and  conferences  held  by  the  Department  of  Rural 
Work  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

But  the  need  is  greater  than  the  supply.  Hundreds  of 
leaders  must  be  trained  for  the  complex  task  of  present  lead- 
ership. "Supplies"  must  be  displaced  by  trained  men  in 
full  standing  in  Annual  Conference  relationships.  The 
vision  of  the  great  task  to  be  performed  by  the  minister  in 
the  rural  community  must  be  given  to  those  who  are  still 
thinking  in  terms  of  church  life  of  a  generation  ago  and  a 
challenge  must  be  given  to  the  youth  of  our  colleges  to  enlist 
themselves  in  the  service  of  rural  people.  The  service  ren- 
dered by  the  rural  pastor  is  as  necessary  to  American  civil- 
ization as  that  which  is  done  in  any  other  part  of  our  social 
organization.  With  the  proper  recognition  of  the  oppor- 
tunity for  both  Kingdom  and  community  service  in  the  rural 
pastorate,  he  will  enter  the  rural  communitj^  with  that  same 
enthusiasm  that  has  characterized  thousands  of  volunteers 
for  foreign  service.  The  challenge  is  a  commanding  one. 
The  church  is  beginning  to  create  the  motive,  the  spirit,  and 
the  power  of  leadership  in  the  rural  church.  It  is  not  only 
preaching,  but  is  also  equipping  its  Sunday  school  for  a 
modern  religious  education.  It  is  also  cooperating  sym- 
pathetically with  every  movement  for  scientific  home  mak- 
ing, for  lightening  the  work  in  the  farmhouse,  for  the  bring- 
ing of  music  and  literature,  the  right  kind  of  recreation  and 
social  life,  within  the  reach  of  every  member  of  the  com- 
munity in  terms  of  his  or  her  own  special  needs. 

A  Rural  Church  Program 

It  is  the  rural  church  with  a  program  that  wins.  In 
response  to  repeated  calls  for  a  program  for  rural  churches, 
the  Department  of  Rural  Work  of  the  Board  of  Home  Mis- 
sions and  Church  Extension,  in  cooperation  with  bishops, 
district  superintendents,  and  jiastors,  has  prepared  the  fol- 
lowing outline. 


58      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

1.  Survey  of  at  least  one  point  on  charge.  Point  to  be  selected 
according  to  its  availability  for  a  community  program.  When  the 
district  is  divided  into  parishes  the  entire  parish  should  be  surveyed. 

2.  When  the  survey  is  completed,  locate  the  home  of  each  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  of  all  who  i)refer  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  all  who  have  no  church  preference, 
on  the  map  that  will  be  furnished  you,  by  dot  or  small  circle.  These 
dots  or  small  circles  should  be  numbered  to  correspond  with  the  cards 
containing  the  names  of  the  occupants  of  the  homes,  and  such  other 
data  as  may  be  gathered  in  making  the  survey. 

3.  Work  for  a  banner  Sunday  school  in  every  church  the  year 
round.  Introduce  the  Partnership  Plan  gotten  out  by  the  Board  of 
Sunday  Schools.  It  will  greatly  increase  the  offerings  of  your  Sun- 
day schools  to  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  ChurcTi  Extension,  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools.  The 
money  secured  in  this  way  will  apply  on  your  regular  benevolent 
apportionments. 

4.  Work  for  the  raising  in  full  of  all  apportionments  in  benevo- 
lences. 

5.  Introduce  the  disciplinary  financial  drive  for  each  church. 

6.  Organize  a  Family  Altar  League.  If  you  are  not  familiar  with 
this  organization,  inquire  of  the  district  superintendent.  We  must 
make  an  effort  to  cultivate  family  religion. 

7.  A  home  improvement  campaign  some  time  during  the  year, 
probably  during  the  spring. 

8.  A  campaign  for  the  improvement  of  every  church  property, 
as  follows: 

(a)     Clean  up  every  churchyard  and  burying  ground. 
(6)     See  that  every  church  building  is  painted. 

(c)  See  that  windows,  stoves,  furnaces,  seats,  papering,  every- 
thing needed  to  make  the  building  comfortable  and  attractive,  is  in 
good  condition. 

(d)  Plant  trees  where  they  are  lacking.  Landscape  the  church- 
yard. Set  out  shrubbery.  Plant  flowers  in  the  spring.  Keep  the 
lawn  properly  mowed. 

(e)  If  your  churches  are  in  villages  or  communities  where  the 
effort  would  be  justified,  lay  out  tennis  courts,  croquet  grounds,  basket- 
ball grounds,  etc. 

(/■)  Toilets  in  the  churches  or  in  the  churchyards  so  located  and 
beautified  as  not  to  be  offensive. 

{g)     Horse  or  automobile  sheds  where   necessary. 

(A)     Coal  or  woodsheds  at  every  church. 

(i)  Parsonages  comfortable  arid  habitable,  with  lawns  well  kept 
and  landscaped. 


THE  EURAL  OPPORTUNITY  59 

(;■)  Keep  cemeteries  in  good  condition.  Organize  a  cemetery 
association,  if  necessary. 

(k)     Individual  communion  cups.     Communion  table  and  linen. 
(0       Methodist  Hymnals  in  every  church, 
(m)     See  that  property  is  properly  insured. 

9.  Make  your  churches  the  center  of  the  social  life  of  the  com- 
munity. Plan  social  functions  for  your  young  people.  Organize  boys' 
clubs.  Keep  something  doing  in  your  churches  all  the  time.  Make 
much  of  the  great  religious  festivals,  such  as  Christmas,  Easter,  etc. 
Cooperate  with  other  agencies  in  community  organization. 

10.  A  rural  study  class  in  each  church  for  training  leaders  for 
conventional  church  work  and  for  leaders  of  community  service. 
Special  evening  courses  during  the  winter  have  been  found  profitable. 

11.  Develop  all  phases  of  evangelistic  effort  recommended  by  the 
Department  of  Evangelism  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church 
Extension.    Write  for  literature. 

12.  Take  an  active  interest  in  Farmers'  Institutes  and  other 
rural  organizations.  Attend  public  sales,  that  you  may  meet  strangers 
and  become  better  acquainted  with  the  men  of  your  community.  Take 
a  farm  journal. 

13.  If  no  adequate  library  exists,  introduce  the  circulating  library 
that  can  be  secured  free  of  cost  from  the  State  university,  or  State 
library  in  most  States. 

14.  It  may  be  profitable  to  arrange  a  course  of  lectures  on  "Good 
Housekeeping,"  "Farming,"  etc. 

15.  It  would  be  well  to  invest  in  a  stereopticon.  Slides  can  be  se- 
cured at  a  nominal  cost.  Many  can  be  secured  entirely  free  of  cost. 
You  can  make  these  stereopticon  lectures  highly  beneficial.  Write  to 
the  Department  of  Rural  Work,  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church 
Extension,  1701  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  for  informa- 
tion as  to  sources  of  illustrative  material. 

16.  During  the  summer  vacation  organize  a  Religious  Day 
School.  Such  a  school  can  be  conducted  profitably  for  a  period  of  from 
two  to  five  weeks.  The  Bible  should  be  the  chief  study  in  the  Religious 
Day  School. 

17.  Divide  your  entire  parish  into  sections.  Have  a  superin- 
tendent of  each  section,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  report  to  you  the 
names  of  the  new  people  who  may  move  into  the  community,  the 
names  of  the  sick,  and  all  other  matters  of  importance  with  which 
you  should  be  familiar. 

18.  Organize  a  pastor's  visiting  committee  of  from  six  to  ten 
women  in  each  church  community,  to  visit  at  least  one  afternoon  each 
week,  under  your  direction.  Special  effort  should  be  made  where  a 
tenant  or  other  transient  population  should  be  reached.     In  this  way 


60      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

the  poor,  the  sick,  the  strangers,  and  the  shut-ins  will  be  given  proper 
attention. 

19.  Organize  a  band  of  personal  workers  in  every  church,  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  seek  out  those  who  have  not  affiliated  with  the 
church,  and  to  give  you  any  valuable  information  that  you  may  need 
concerning  the  spiritual  state  of  those  with  whom  they  may  CMne  in 
contact. 

20.  Select  a  few  silent  workers  in  each  church,  who  shall  be- 
friend the  poor,  the  neglected,  the  sinful,  and  those  recently  saved, 
with  a  view  of  helping  them  up  in  the  community.  These  workers 
should  be  selected  without  the  knowledge  of  anyone  but  the  pastor,  and 
should  work  under  his  direction.  Just  a  little'  personal  attention  will 
often  start  a  man  on  the  highway  of  salvation. 

21.  Use  all  righteous  means  to  lift  your  community  and  your 
entire  parish  up  to  the  highest  state  of  moral,  industrial,  social,  and 
spiritual  efficiency. 

22.  Above  all,  determine  to  make  your  sermons  on  the  Sab- 
bath scriptural,  spiritual,  and  inspirational.  No  secular  theme  should 
be  allowed  to  sidetrack  a  gospel  message  on  the  Lord's  Day. 

23.  For  the  sake  of  greater  effectiveness  in  community  action,  let 
all  ministers  on  the  district  work  together  at  some  time,  previously 
agreed  upon,  under  the  direction  of  the  district  superintendent  in  ac- 
cordance with  plans  formed  by  an  interdenominational  comity  com- 
mittee, for  the  following^: 

(a)  A  county  farm  bureau  in  each  county. 

(&)  A  county  welfare  bureau  in  each  county. 

(c)  An  effective   community   organization    in   every   community. 

(d)  A  county  library  system  in  every  county. 

(c)  Boys'  and  girls'  club  work  of  such  kind  as  are  adapted  to 
local  conditions. 

(f)  Community  health  campaigns. 

(g)  Home  economics  campaigns, 

(h)  Care  of  the  unfortunate  classes  in  county  homes,  lockups, 
jails,  insane  asylums. 

That  a  program  is  needed  does  not  .need  to  be  argued. 
The  first  essential,  however,  is  the  making  of  a  survey.  This 
may  be  done  very  simply.  The  Department  of  Rural  Work 
of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  issued  a  "Rural  Home 
Survey"  which  can  be  used  to  secure  the  data  absolutely 
necessary  for  beginning  the  work. 


THE  RURAL  OPPORTUNITY  61 

On  a  number  of  Conference  districts  promising  rural 
charges  have  been  selected  by  the  Department  of  Rural 
Work  with  the  aim  to  assist  them  in  reaching  the  highest  pos- 
sible efficiency.  Here  trained  rural  ministers  are  assisted 
both  financially  and  with  guidance  by  the  Board.  It  is  hoped 
through  this  help  in  special  places  to  develop  a  large  number 
of  rural  churches  to  recognized  leadership  in  the  community. 
As  rapidly  as  such  charges  attain  desired  standards,  the  help 
will  be  transferred  to  other  charges. 

Rural.  Ministers'  Association 

In  some  sections  of  the  country  rural  missionary  so- 
cieties and  rural  Ministers '  Associations  are  helping  to  co- 
ordinate and  assist  financially  the  church  activities  of  rural 
churches.  In  the  Rock  River  Conference  some  twenty 
preaching  points  receive  help  on  the  pastor's  salary  each 
year,  and  interest  is  stimulated  in  the  best  things  of  rural 
life.  The  North-East  Ohio  Conference  Rural  Ministers' 
Association  serves  as  a  clearing  house  for  the  best  plans  and 
methods  in  rural  church  work.  An  exhibit  of  rural  church 
work  is  set  up  at  the  session  of  the  Annual  Conference  and 
an  hour  of  the  regular  business  session  is  given  over  to 
expert  discussion  of  rural  work.  The  district  secretaries  of 
the  Association  seek  to  discover  promising  rural  pastors  in 
their  district  and  encourage  them  to  make  the  rural  pastor- 
ate their  lifework.  As  a  result  many  rural  pastors  are  catch- 
ing a  new  vision  of  the  opportunities  in  the  rural  parish  and 
are  dedicating  their  lives  to  this  field. 

A  Department  of  Rural  Work 

The  day  of  the  rural  church  is  dawning.  The  rural 
sources  of  Christian  democracy  are  receiving  more  and 
better  attention.  Awakening  to  its  share  of  the  obligation, 
the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
in  May,  1916,  provided  for  a  Department  of  Rural  Work. 
It  provides  for  tasks  of  Christian  statesmanship.  Looking 
out  over  the  country,  it  surveys  the  field  in  order  to  deter- 


62      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

mine  the  centers  where  permanent  church  enterprises  might 
be  established  which  would  serve  the  entire  community.  It 
has  the  appropriating  of  funds  to  strategic  centers  for 
demonstration  purposes.  Recommendations  for  denomina- 
tional exchanges  and  cooperative  or  federated  plans  come 
from  its  study.  The  promotion  of  the  study  of  rural  soci- 
ology and  the  spreading  of  the  vision  of  rural  life  service  is 
in  its  hands.  It  stimulates  cooperation  with  the  allies  of  the 
church  in  the  improving  of  economic,  social,  educational, 
and  religious  life  of  people  in  rural  sections. 

To  help  to  keep  the  church  alive  to  the  best  thought  and 
expression  of  the  day  concerning  rural  life  is  no  small  task. 
But  Methodism  has  a  heritage  that  is  rural.  Its  strength  is 
recruited  to-day  in  its  rural  churches.  Its  ministry  and 
the  leadership  of  the  nation  come  from  the  country.  What 
challenges  for  the  best  in  religious  leadership  sound  from 
these  facts.  If  the  leaders  of  cities  are  to  be  trained  in 
villages,  how  much  more  urgent  is  the  task  of  inculcating  in 
rural  youth  that  democracy  whose  principles  are  diffused 
with  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount !  Unless  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  responds  in  a  large  way  at  this  point  its 
opportunity  for  service  both  in  city  and  country  is  lost. 
With  a  rousing  response  the  thought  and  life  of  the  nation 
may  be  lifted  for  years  to  come. 

Questions  fob  Discussion 

1.  What  challenge  to  Christian  democracy  does  the 
rural  population  of  America  throw  out! 

2.  What  part  has  Methodism  had  in  ministering  to 
rural  communities! 

V     3.    Wliat  is  meant  by  **  rural "  ?    Illustrate. 

4.  Describe  the  results  of  the  Rural  Survey  Study  t 
What  do  you  know  personally  of  rural  conditions? 

5.  State  the  Rural  Home  Mission  Problem  and  discuss 
some  contributing  causes. 

6.  How  may  one  get  rural  vision?  What  hope  has  the 
farmer's  wife! 


THE  RURAL  OPPORTUNITY  63 

7.  Show  how  failure  to  retain  a  sense  of  rural  worth 
has  handicapped  rural  church  work. 

8.  To  what  extent  are  salary  and  leadership  related? 
How  well  are  rural  Methodist  Episcopal  ministers  paid? 

9.  Compare  the  circuit  system  with  the  resident  pastor- 
ate. 

10.  "What  new  demands  make  an  absentee  pastor  inade- 
quate ? 

11.  Where  shall  we  get  a  trained  rural  ministry? 
What  inducements  must  we  offer  ? 

12.  What  would  you  put  into  a  rural  church  program? 

13.  How  may  rural  ministers'  associations  help  de- 
velop rural  consciousness  ? 

14.  Describe  the  aims  of  the  Department  of  Rural 
Work  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


The  great  leveling  forces  of  democracy,  recruited  from  many 
sources,  have  all  halted  before  the  racial  wall.  However  slight  the 
ethnic  barrier,  even  Christianity  has  struck  its  colors  before  it,  and 
turned  back  in  spite  of  an  honest  desire  for  universal  conquest.  No- 
where is  this  defeat  more  apparent  than  in  the  United  States,  where 
a  tint  is  equivalent  to  a  taint,  a  crooked  nose  to  a  crooked  character, 
and  where  a  peculiar  slant  of  the  eyes  is  taken  as  unmistakable  evi-  '' 
dence  that  the  race  so  marked  cannot  see  straight.  Yet  the  wall  has 
been  broken  here  and  there  by  the  love  of  God,  which  asks  -nothing  and 
gives  everything;  by  that  other  love  which  is  also  of  God,  which  asks 
everything,  and  gives  everything;  by  the  passion  for  fair  play  which 
is  almost  a  national  characteristic  and  by  those  vital,  but  uncatalogued 
forces  which  are  called  environment. — Edward  A.  Steiner,  in  The  ♦ 
Brohen  Wall. 

As  our  fathers  and  mothers,  when  the  call  came  to  save  the  country 
in  the  days  of  '61,  placed  their  all  upon  the  nation's  altar,  not  even 
holding  their  lives  dear,  so  may  we,  when  the  call  is  given,  "America 
for  Christ,"  consecrate  the  best  we  have  to  bring  that  day  to  pass. — 
Charles  M.  Boswell. 

The  undertaking  of  material  civilization  involves  large  principles. 
They  are  titanic  in  scope.  But  the  forces  at  play  in  the  American 
missionary  enterprise  are  vaster — are  nothing  less  than  cosmic. — Lemuel 
C.  Barnes,  in  Elemental  Forces  in  Home  Missions. 

The  present  world  conditions  make  it  more  necessary  than  ever  that 
every  man  and  woman  coming  to  our  shores  be  given  a  practical  demon- 
stration of  the  Christianity  which  we  preach  to  them  through  our  for- 
eign missionaries. — Onr  Italian  Allies. 

We  are  being  forged  into  a  new  unity  amidst  the  fires  that  now 
blaze  throughout  the  world.  In  their  ardent  heat  we  shall,  in  God's 
providence,  let  us  hope,  be  purged  of  faction  and  division,  purified  of 
the  errant  humors  of  party  and  private  interest,  and  shall  stand  forth 
in  the  days  to  come  with  a  new  dignity  of  national  pride  and  spirit. 
Let  each  man  see  to  it  that  the  dedication  is  in  his  own  heart,  the 
high  purpose  of  the  nation  in  his  own  mind,  ruler  of  his  own  will  and 
desire. — President  Woodrow  Wilson,  in  Second  Inaugural  Address. 


CHAPTEE  III 
OUR  FUTURE  CITIZENS 

No  Longer  "Foreigners" 

The  term  ^'foreigner"  is  obsolete  in  America.  For 
some  time  there  has  been  a  substitution  of  the  term  "non- 
English  speaking. ' '  And  now,  with  war  mingling  the  blood 
of  several  nations  in  the  same  red  stream,  the  term  * '  allies ' ' 
has  become  the  fitting  appellation  for  those  sons  of  other 
lands  who  love  the  truth  and  fight  for  the  right.  The  immi- 
grant is  now  thought  of  as  our  future  citizen.  As  such  he 
must  be  given  the  opportunity  afforded  our  own  sons.  Our 
dream  of  Christian  democracy  must  be  his.  Will  he  catch 
it  ?  The  patient  teaching  of  its  ideals  will  give  him  the  back- 
ground for  making*  it  his  own.  The  practical  application  of 
its  principles  in  dealing  with  him  will  help  him  to  possess  it. 
His  failure  or  success  depends  on  us. 

Little  thought  is  given  to  immigration  in  these  days 
when  every  available  ship  is  employed  to  transport  men, 
equipment,  and  food  across  the  seas.  Our  minds  are  cen- 
tered on  the  main  issue  of  our  national  life.  All  else  is  given 
second  place  when  a  war  must  be  won  for  democracy.  But 
we  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  in  the  United  States 
there  are  multitudes  of  people  of  foreign  birth  who  do  not 
know  our  democracy.  A  part  of  the  immigration  which 
came  before  the  beginning  of  the  world  war,  they  have  not 
yet  been  taught  its  ways.  They  crowd  the  sidewalks  in  the 
bustling  cities.  They  are  found  in  the  quiet  lanes  of  the 
countryside.  In  mines,  on  the  railroad,  in  factories,  building 
subways  and  bridges,  on  the  ranch,  in  the  lumber  camp — 
there  is  scarcely  a  place  where  men  work  that  they  are  not 
found.    And  their  families  have  settled  down  in  whatever 

67 


68      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

dwellings  they  could  find,  just  so  as  to  be  near  to  their  men. 

Giving  the  content  of  Christian  brotherhood  to  the  term 
"allies"  is  a  task  not  yet  performed.  It  is  in  process,  but 
much  must  yet  be  done.  It  is  no  new  challenge  to  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Its  concern  has  been  men  and  women,  no 
matter  where  they  came  from  or  what  their  condition.  That 
the  church  has  not  always  lived  up  to  the  ideal  of  its  aim  is 
true.  Distinctions  have  been  made.  The  humanness  of  the 
average  church  member  has  blinded  the  eyes  of  many  to  the 
fact  that  the  world  has  been  coming  to  the  United  States  for 
teaching.  Social  distinctions  have  made  it  hard  for  some  to 
extend  the  hand  of  Christian  fellowship  to  those  whose 
family  tree  did  not  root  in  the  same  ancestral  garden  as  their 
own.  It  has  been  a  failure  of  adaptability  rather  than  of 
purpose.  A  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  English  language  has 
been  put  down  as  general  ignorance.  Unfamiliarity  with 
the  strange  ways  and  customs  of  newcomers  has  made  us 
irritable  at  the  slowness  with  which  they  have  adopted  our 
customs  and  ways.  Forgetting  that  they  are  individuals  like 
ourselves,  we  have  sought  in  a  patronizing  way  to  make  them 
see  how  much  better  we  are  than  they.  Possessing  fine 
churches  of  our  own,  we  have  endeavored  to  '^missionize" 
them  in  old,  unused  grocery  stores  and  shacks  on  side  streets. 
The  folly  of  this  sort  of  exhibition  of  brotherly  love  is  now 
seen.  The  heart  of  the  membership  of  the  church  is  warmed 
by  the  common  sacrifices  made  by  its  sons  and  the  sons  of 
the  immigrant  alike.  They  now  seek  to  have  such  fellow- 
ship with  the  folks  once  derisively  called  "foreigners"  as 
will  demonstrate  the  unity  of  Christian  love.  And  the  re- 
sponse will  be  equal  to  the  effort. 

Not  all  of  the  work  done  by  the  church  for  the  immi- 
grant has  been  either  selfish  or  in  vain.  Wliile  local 
churches  have  found  it  difficult  to  respond  to  the  Master's 
call  to  minister  to  all  men,  many  have  been  practicing*  the 
vision  of  a  kingdom  of  God  on  earth  of  all  people  with  great 
success.  It  is  this  work  already  accomplished  that  gives 
hope  for  the  future.   It  is  in  this  success  that  the  challenge  to 


MOHAMMEDAN  CHILDREN  AT  JOHNSTOWN,  PENNSYLVANIA 
CHILDREN  OF  THE  NATIONS  AT  ELLIS  ISLAND 


OUR  FUTURE  CITIZENS  69 

unseeing  cliurclies  lies.  With  the  whole  Christian  Church 
awake,  the  processes  of  the  government  to  Americanize  our 
future  citizens  will  be  augmented  in  a  most  remarkable  way 
by  the  Christianizing  influence  of  the  church.  Then  will 
Christian  democracy  spread  rapidly.  Then  will  the  nations 
of  the  earth  see  that  our  fine  utterance  of  a  democracy 
worth  dying  to  make  the  world  safe  for  is  based  upon  actual 
practice  in  the  United  States.  On  that  great  day  the  doors 
of  every  nation  the  world  around  will  swing  wide  open  to 
receive  the  purposes  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ  his  Son. 

Methodism  Has  Bid  Them  Welcome 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  stood  well  to  the 
front  among  the  churches  which  have  definitely  ministered  to 
the  immigrant  through  the  years.  Mindful  of  the  fact  that 
all  of  us,  or  our  forefathers,  came  to  this  country  as  immi- 
grants, its  ministers  have  sought  to  share  in  the  process  of 
assimilating  the  newcomers  to  our  manner  of  thought  and 
ways  of  living.  Nor  was  the  labor  in  vain.  For  to-day 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land  are  Methodist 
Episcopal  churches  whose  members  came  in  recent  years 
from  lands  across  the  seas.  In  loyalty  to  the  kingdom  of 
God  they  equal  our  native  born.  In  devotion  to  the  land  that 
adopted  them  they  are  not  excelled.  Their  songs,  their  lives, 
their  sacrifices  give  evidence  of  their  new  life-purposes. 

The  type  of  people  who  have  sought  the  United  States 
as  a  future  home  has  varied  through  the  years.  The 
*' earlier"  immigration,  from  1820  to  1873,  was,  for  the  most 
part,  made  up  of  English,  Scotch,  Celts,  French,  German, 
and  Scandinavians.  The  assimilation  of  these  people  was 
scarcely  perceptible.  American  ideals  soon  found  root  in 
their  minds.  They  took  to  American  ways  readily.  The 
church  was  able  to  meet  their  spiritual  needs  in  an  unusually 
successful  way.  A  representative  of  the  church  met  the 
immigrant  and  his  family  at  Ellis  Island.  Protection  was 
given  against  exploitation.    Temporal  needs  were  cared  for 


70      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

until  self-support  was  possible.  Churches  were  built  for 
these  people.  Ministers  who  could  si)eak  their  native  tongue 
were  provided.  Tlie  democratic  spirit  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  fitted  it  peculiarly  for  its  share  of  this 
task.  It  was  able  to  develop  an  environment  and  create  con- 
ditions favorable  for  the  betterment  of  every  nationality  that 
arrived.  In  these  days  of  the  ''earlier"  immigration  the 
point  of  contact  between  the  church  and  the  stranger  was 
easy  to  find.  Home  life  in  the  case  of  each  nation  was  much 
alike.  The  newcomer  was  of  high  intelligence,  thrifty,  pro- 
gressive, and  adaptable.  There  existed  little  or  no  racial  or 
political  prejudice. 

But  a  change  came  about  1873.  Since  then  there  have 
not  been  so  many  coming  from  the  peoples  just  mentioned. 
The  change  was  most  marked  in  racial  type.  Southern 
Europe  began  to  contribute  largely  to  our  new  population. 
Spanish,  Portuguese,  and  Basques  also  began  to  come.  The 
immigrant  suddenly  become  a  complex  problem  for  govern- 
ment authorities.  A  new  and  tremendous  challenge  con- 
fronted the  Christian  Church.  It  still  confronts  it.  For 
while  with  the  beginning  of  the  war  immigration  from  thesg 
sources  practically  ceased,  there  are  still  with  us  the  people 
who  came  previous  to  that  time. 

Some  Difficulties  in  Assimilation 

The  church  finds  a  difficulty  in  coping  with  its  responsi- 
bility in  the  illiteracy  of  the  new  immigration.  Where  there 
is  illiteracy  on  the  part  of  even  one  party,  prejudice  and 
mutual  misunderstanding  are  likely  to  result.  There  is  less 
of  common  ground  in  any  relation,  and  greater  divergence 
of  thought.  Until  the  church  understands  the  character  and 
customs  of  the  heterogeneous  peoples  coming  to  our  shores 
to  engage  in  unskilled  labor,  it  cannot  be  a  channel  of  en- 
lightenment to  them.  Tenement  life  presents  another  diffi- 
culty. Because  of  necessity,  Italians,  Greeks,  and  others  of 
the  "later"  immigration  crowd  into  the  unsanitary  tene- 
ments of  our  great  cities.   Here  in  colonies  of  their  own  peo- 


OUR  FUTURE  CITIZENS  71 

pie  it  is  easy  for  them  to  preserve  the  old  ideals  and  tradi- 
tions. The  scattering  of  the  "earlier"  immigration,  and  its 
greater  similarity  to  those  already  here,  eliminated  this 
barrier  to  approach  and  assimilation. 

Diversity  of  language  presents  another  barrier  to  evan- 
gelical approach.  The  religious  conceptions  of  the  people 
are  in  terms  used  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  put  evangelical  content  into  the  religious  phraseology 
with  which  they  are  familiar.  Thousands  of  them  are 
estranged  from  the  church  of  their  homeland,  but  are  unable 
to  see  the  distinction  between  the  religious  oppression  of  the 
old  days  and  the  offer  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
free,  untrammeled  terms  of  the  evangelical  church.  While 
speaking  different  languages,  these  groups  of  people  have 
the  same  background  for  their  religious  thinking.  To  find  a 
point  of  contact  here  is  a  most  difficult  task.  Their  own 
ecclesiastical  authorities  make  no  effort  to  help  them,  and 
the  ideals  of  citizenship  come  to  them  very  slowly. 

The  Bueeau  of  Foreign  Work 

The  Bureau  of  Foreign  Work  of  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions  and  Church  Extension  is  seeking  to  find  these 
points  of  contact  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  It  is 
making  an  intensive  study  of  non-English  speaking  groups 
according  to  racial  and  language  divisions.'  In  this  study 
account  is  taken  of  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  people, 
the  populations  to  be  ministered  to,  church  locations,  types 
of  work  needed,  buildings  and  equipment  required,  and  the 
sort  of  leadership  which  alone  can  lead  these  people  into  the 
truth. 

A  Local  Italian  Parish  Program 

As  a  result  of  the  studies  already  made  among  the 
Italian  people  a  program  of  work  and  a  program  of  train- 
ing for  leadership  have  been  adopted.  It  has  been  found 
that  in  the  local  Italian  church  the  most  effective  min- 
istry is  that  which  approaches  the  family  as  a  whole.    This 


OUE  FUTURE  CITIZENS  73 

helps  every  individual  in  the  family  to  get  the  viewpoint 
of  evangelical  Christianity  at  the  same  time  and  prevents 
the  church  from  sharing  in  the  separation  of  immigrant 
parents  and  their  children  as  a  result  of  the  forward  look 
which  the  latter  are  acquiring  through  the  Americanization 
processes  of  the  public  school.  The  older  generation  must 
be  approached  in  Italian,  for  English  will  never  be  to  them 
a  familiar  vehicle  for  either  the  reception  or  expression 
of  their  religious  or  political  ideas.  But  English  is  the 
"mother  tongue"  of  the  children  and  the  young  people. 
They  are  Americans  and  resent  the  implication  that  Italian 
is  the  language  for  them.  With  these  general  principles  in 
mind  the  following  more  detailed  plan  is  proposed : 

1.  Approach  to  the  Family  as  a  Whole. 

(a)  Home  visitor,  a  woman  speaking  Italian  with  the  American 
training  and  American  spirit.  Such  a  one,  bilingual,  could  work 
with  little  children  in  English,  and  conduct  older  classes  possibly 
in  Italian,  The  problem  is  one  of  young  women  as  well  as 
mothers.  The  future  objective  to  be  young  Italian  women  thor- 
oughly trained.  (&)  Family  gatherings  for  everybody  in  the 
church  parlors  or  church  house.  Music,  games,  pictures,  etc. 
Recognize  the  family  unit,  (c)  Meetings  in  the  home.  The  com- 
ing of  the  stranger  draws  all  the  neighbors  in  so  that  a  program 
may  be  used.     Special  attention  to  home  meetings  for  girls. 

2.  Approach  in  Italian  for  Adult  Italian  Groups. 

(o)  Religious  services  of  worship  in  Italian,  (h)  Bilingual  staff 
members,  a  lawyer,  physician,  employment  agent,  and  a  printer, 
whose  services  may  be  used  for  help  among  the  Italians  in  the 
community,  (c)  Mothers'  club  in  Italian,  (d)  Men's  clubs  for 
learning  English  and  citizenship  (civic  questions,  citizen  papers, 
etc.)  (e)  Use  of  Italian  literature,  (f)  Religious  instruction  in 
Italian,  (g)  Illustrated  lectures,  (h)  Italian  patriotism  as  point 
of  contact  (Italian  days,  the  20th  of  September,  etc.).  (i)  Make 
use  of  musical  interest. 

3.  Approach  in  English  to  Children  and  Young  People. 

(a)  Attendance  at  English  church  services.  (6)  Religious  instruc- 
tion (Sunday  School),  (c)  Related  week-day  club  activities,  em- 
phasis on  expressional  work,  such  as:  Recreational  club,  gymnasium' 
club,  choral  societies,  dramatic  clubs.  Boy  Scouts,  Knights  of  King 
Arthur,  Carapfire  Girls,  Girl  Scouts,  sewing,  painting,  drawing, 
and  sculpturing,    (d)  Illustrated  lectures  and  moving  pictures,    (e) 


74      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

Daily  vacation  Bible  school,     (f)  Flower  mission,     {g)  Fresh  air 
work,     {h)  Camps. 

Italian  Leadership 

The  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension,  in 
cooperation  with  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  is  already  at  the  task  of  securing  an 
adequately  trained  ministry  for  Italian  parishes.  The 
American  minister  who  is  to  bring  the  message  of  Christian 
democracy  to  the  Italian  must  have  a  college  and  theological 
seminary  training.  The  latter  must  be  supplemented  with 
clinic  work  in  an  Italian  parish,  and  a  year  in  Italy.  Italian 
ministers  who  are  to  be  religious  leaders  among  their  own 
people  in  this  country  must  have  a  college  and  theological 
seminary  training.  During  their  seminary  training  they 
must  also  be  in  attendance  at  some  center  in  connection  with 
an  Italian  church  where  they  may  receive  lectures  in  Italian 
and  Italian  culture,  and  be  guided  in  practical  work  in  dif- 
ferent Italian  parishes.  Candidates  for  this  form  of  min- 
istry in  Italian  and  other  tongues  are  assisted  in  their  prep- 
aration by  scholarships  provided  by  the  Bureau  of  Foreign 
Work.  There  is  a  Slavic  department  for  such  training  at 
Baldwin- Wallace  College,  Berea,  Ohio. 

With  Other  Tongues 

The  general  principles  worked  out  for  work  among 
Italians  is  the  foundation  for  all  work  among  non-English- 
speaking  peoples.  Of  course  there  will  have  to  be  modifica- 
tions according  to  varying  needs.  But  the  entire  process 
must  be  a  part  of  bringing  the  people  from  every  land  into 
actual  fellowship  with  English-speaking  congregations.  In 
all  of  the  other  activities  of  life  America  makes  no  racial 
distinction.  It  cannot  longer  make  such  distinction  in  the 
,one  phase  of  life  above  all  others  which  should  exemplify 
democracy.  The  barriers  are  breaking  down  very  rapidly 
on  account  of  the  war.  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  must 
now  summons  Italian,  Croatian,  Bohemian,  Syrian,  Finnish, 


OUR  FUTURE  CITIZENS  75 

Slav,  and  all  others  to  a  unity  of  worship  and  service.  Jesus 
Christ  made  this  common  footing  possible.  The  church  of 
to-day  must  see  that  the  theory  works  out  in  actual  practice. 
Because  of  -language  difficulties  there  will  be  non-Eng- 
lish-speaking churches  for  some  time.  The  old  folks  must  be 
ministered  to.    But  as  rapidly  as  English  is  acquired  they 


THE  IMMIGRANT  ZONE 

The  heavy  line  indicates  the  Immigrant  Zone  in  the  United  States.    Eighty- 
two  per  cent  of  our  non-English-speaking  population  are  within  this  area. 
So  also  are  most  of  our  large  cities,  as  indicated  by  dots. 

must  be  assimilated  with  the  regular  membership  of  the 
church  and  cease  to  be  a  ''missionary  problem."  And  they 
will  be  so  assimilated  if  the  church  will  give  them  the  oppor- 
tunity. Many  a  church  is  rediscovering  itself  by  adopting 
this  method.  Indiana  Harbor,  Illinois,  has  a  population  of 
eighty-three  per  cent  ''foreign."  The  local  church,  like 
many  others,  was  divided  between  those  who  considered  the 
situation  hopeless  and  those  who  looked  upon  ' '  foreigners ' ' 
as  undesirables.  By  degrees  this  church  has  discovered  that 
the  Chinese  and  the  Croatian  are  as  human  as  the  original 
members.    A  Serbian  seems  to  have  all  the  desires  and  ambi- 


76      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

tions  of  the  man  in  search  of  the  best  in  American  life.  An 
Arabian  may  now  be  baptized  at  their  altar.  The  joy  of 
various  tongues  unites  in  song  of  praise  to  God  in  their 
church.  Something  happened.  A  pastor  came  who  believed 
the  statement  to  be  true  that  all  men  may  know  God  through 
Jesus  Christ.  The  people  awoke,  and  now  a  ministry  un- 
dreamed of  is  being  performed  by  that  church.  The  same 
thing  will  be  duplicated  in  countless  other  comnmnities  just 
as  soon  as  folks  discover  that  they  have  not  a  proprietorship 
upon  the  church  which  made  them  what  they  are. 

Methodism's  Appeal  to  the  Immigrant 

It  is  an  interesting  coincidence  that  the  Centenary  of 
Methodist  Missions  comes  at  the  same  time  as  the  one  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  immigration  in  the  United  States.  It 
also  is  of  interest  to  note  that  all  through  these  years  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  been  ministering  to  each 
group  of  newcomers  in  their  native  tongue.  The  result  in 
organization  is  seen  in  the  ten  German  Annual  Confer- 
ences, the  six  Swedish  Conferences,  and  the  two  Nor- 
wegian-Danish Conferences,  all  in  the  United  States.  While 
for  the  most  part  the  immigrant  has  been  ministered  to  as  a 
part  of  English  congregations,  there  has  been  a  tremendous 
value  in  the  form  of  administration  to  which  reference  has 
just  been  made.  The  time  has  come,  however,  when  the 
churches  represented  by  these  non-P]nglish-speaking  Con- 
,  ferences  will  ask  that  their  Americanism  be  recognized. 
They  will  request  a  place  in  the  English-speaking  Confer- 
ences. And  the  Methodist  Episcoi)al  Church,  which  adapts 
itself  to  the  needs  of  each  changing  generation,  will  grant 
the  request.  During  the  past  years  this  ministry  in  a  foreign 
tongue  has  been  a  most  effective  channel  for  the  dissemina- 
tion of  the  ideals  of  Christian  democracy.  Now,  with  the 
government  insisting  that  all  men  and  women,  as  well  as  the 
children,  shall  be  able  to  read  and  write  the  English  lan- 
guage, this  necessity  is  done  away  with.     Probably  the 


OUR  FUTURE  CITIZENS  77 

Chinese  and  Japanese  Mission  Conferences  will  serve  a 
real  purpose  for  a  time  yet.  But  the  day  is  not  far  distant 
when  the  songs  of  faith  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  United  States  will  all  be  sung  in  American  English. 

The  Plaza  Community  Center  foe  Latin-Americans 

The  Plaza  Community  Center  of  Los  Angeles,  Cali- 
fornia, is  the  response  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to 
the  material  and  spiritual  needs  of  the. 60,000  Latin- Amer- 
icans in  that  great  city  of  540,000  people.  The  people  to 
whom  this  institutional  church  will  minister  are  for  the  most 
part  refugees  from  Mexico.  Several  things  account  for 
their  coming.  The  industrial  advantage  to  be  found  in  this 
country  stands  foremost.  The  political  and  revolutionary 
disturbances  so  common  in  Mexico  have  sent  many  hurrying 
into  southern  California.  Some  have  come  with  the  hope  of 
escaping  the  oppression  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
Others  desire  to  give  the  better  educational  advantages  of 
the  United  States  to  their  children.  A  few  have  left  Mexico 
for  the  sake  of  seeing  the  country  once  owned  by  their 
fathers.  Slipping  across  the  border  they  have  settled  in 
large  numbers  in  a  crowded  and  unwholesome  section  of  the 
city.  Here  all  the  forces  of  evil  are  at  work  for  their  de- 
struction. Housing  conditions  are  deplorable.  The  tene- 
ment houses  are  unspeakable,  but  the  house  courts  are  worse. 
The  houses  average  from  one  to  three  rooms,  eight  by  ten 
feet  to  ten  by  twelve  in  size.  There  is  usually  one  outside 
window  and  a  door  at  each  end  of  the  house.  In  these  homes 
the  families  average  five,  In  some  eight  people  live  in  two 
or  three  rooms,  ten  in  three  rooms,  and  twenty-five  in  five 
small  rooms.  Twenty-eight  per  cent  of  the  Mexican  people 
in  this  section  of  the  city  have  no  water  facilities  in  the 
house.  A  hydrant  in  the  yard  supplies  the  needs  of  from  six 
to  eight  families.  Bathing  under  these  conditions  is  practi- 
cally impossible. 

No  ordinary  church  could  meet  the  needs  of  such  a  com- 


78      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

munity.  The  Plaza  Community  Center  is  not  an  ordinary 
church.  It  is  being  built  on  the  experience  of  the  very  best 
efforts  to  meet  the  real  needs  of  i)eople  the  country  over. 
Morgan  Memorial  Church,  Boston,  has  furnished  a  part 
of  the  idea.  The  Hampton  Institute,  Hampton,  Virginia, 
has  also  made  contribution.  So  have  many  other  institu- 
tional churches  of  all  denominations.  The  purpose  of  the 
Plaza  Community  Center  is  to  minister  to  the  entire  life  of 
the  people  whom  it  serves.  To  this  end  the  church  proper 
is  being  built  alongside  of  and  as  a  part  of  the  institutional 
section  of  the  structure.  This  meets  the  prejudice  of  Latin- 
Americans  against  social  activities  in  the  house  of  God. 

The  main  part  of  the  building  is  six  stories  high,  with  a 
basement  and  a  roof  garden.  In  the  basement  there  will  be  a 
printing  shop,  swimming  pool,  and  baths.  The  first  floor  will 
be  given  up  to  the  general  office,  an  employment  bureau,  a 
general  store,  cafeteria,  and  children's  bank.  Going  up  an- 
other flight  of  stairs,  one  may  find  a  fine  large  auditorium  for 
entertainments  and  social  activities,  a  reading  room,  dining 
room,  kitchen  and  the  superintendent's  office.  The  free  dis- 
pensary and  temporary  hospital  will  occui)y  the  third  floor. 
Above  this  will  be  the  temporary  home  for  the  homeless, 
apartments  for  workers  in  the  Plaza  Community  Center, 
class  rooms  for  housekeeping  and  homemaking,  a  kinder- 
garten and  a  day  nursery.  The  shoe  and  furniture  rei)air 
shops,  the  carpenter  and  tinker  shop,  and  the  rug  weaving 
factory  will  be  on  the  fifth  floor.  Here  also  will  be  the  class 
rooms  for  English,  Spanish,  penmanship,  music,  cooking, 
sewing,  millinery,  and  tailoring.  The  sixth  floor  will  house 
the  gymnasium,  physical  culture  classes,  and  hand  laundiy. 

What  an  equipment  for  practical  service  I  What  a  re- 
sponse to  the  demand  for  giving  Christian  democracy  in  its 
most  i)ractical  form  to  these  sad,  hopeless  strangers  from 
over  the  border!  The  work  which  this  Community  Center 
will  Ije  able  to  do  is  incalculable.  But  Methodism  will  not 
fulfill  her  trust  to  the  Latin-Americans  in  the  United  States 
until  she  makes  possible  the  duplication  of  this  sort  of  enter- 


OUR  FUTURE  CITIZENS  79 

prise  in  numerous  communities  throughout  the  entire  great 
Southwest. 

Jefferson   Park — In   New   York's  Little  Italy 

In  the  midst  of  crowded  Little  Italy,  New  York  city, 
stands  the  Jefferson  Park  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Under  the  able  direction  of  an  Italian  pastor,  a  ministry  is 
here  performed  whose  influence  is  far-reaching.  With  one 
block  of  tenement  houses  occupied  by  twenty-five  hundred 
Italians  and  every  other  tenement  proportionately  filled, 
there  is  no  lack  of  opportunity  for  teaching  Christian 
democracy  to  these  blood  brothers  of  one  of  our  allies.  And 
it  is  being  taught  through  the  points  of  contact  peculiar  to 
these  people.  Not  content  with  preaching  the  gospel  at  the 
regular  Sunday  services,  the  pastor  takes  his  message  out  on 
the  street  corners.  He  visits  the  industrial  plants  in  the 
community.  He  goes  where  the  children  congregate  at  their 
play.  Through  tenejment  house  after  tenement  house  he 
seeks  for  those  who  need  his  ministry.  Not  infrequently  he 
is  seen  coming  down  a  fire  escape  to  visit  some  family  be- 
tween the  roof  and  the  sidewalk.  Within  a  stone 's  throw  of 
a  stable  where  scores  of  murders  have  been  committed  he  is 
furnishing  the  neutralizing  influence  against  crime  in  the 
community. 

The  value  of  this  work  is  recognized  by  the  police  cap- 
tain of  this  precinct.  He  says:  "I  heartily  commend  the 
strong  efforts  you  are  making  and  hope  that  other  churches 
will  take  up  the  good  work  started  by  you  in  bringing  the 
youngsters  under  such  wholesome  influences,  thereby  fitting 
them  to  grow  up  and  become  good  American  citizens." 
With  a  beautiful  five  story  brick  building  for  a  plant,  the 
opportunities  of  this  Italian  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  are 
without  end.  A  large  Sunday  school  and  flourishing  Ep- 
worth  League  grip  the  young  people  and  children.  Then 
there  are  the  Boy  Scouts,  the  Girl  Scouts,  a  glee  club,  school 
of  music,  an  orchestra,  cooking  class,  a  night  school  for 
English-Italiai;  and  Italian-English,  mothers'  meetings,  a 


80      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

choral  class,  a  bugle-drum  corps,  a  typesetting  and  printing 
class,  and  an  athletic  club. 

A  fine  patriotic  spirit  characterizes  the  people  of  this 
church.  Red  Cross  activities  furnish  the  women  with  the 
task  of  making  garments  for  their  men  at  the  front.  The 
service  flag  reminds  them  constantly  that  the  land  of  their 
adoption  is  making  them  a  part  of  its  very  life  through  the 
sacrifice  of  the  lifeblood  of  their  sons.  The  little  children  re- 
joice in  the  fact  that  their  brother  or  father  is  in  khaki  or 
blue.  "The  Star-Spangled  Banner"  is  sung  with  all  the  joy 
and  enthusiasm  that  comes  with  the  singing  of  "Inno  di 
Garibaldi."  Democracy  is  getting  a  fine  chance  here,  and  it 
is  a  Christian  democracy  that  will  endure. 

Old  Broadway — A  Ministry  to  Bohemians 

Old  Broadway  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  is  located  in  a  community  of  approximately  eighty 
thousand  people,  eighty-five  per  cent,  of  whom  are  either 
foreign  born  or  of  foreign-born  parentage. "  For  years  this 
church  has  ministered  to  the  immigrant  through  its  Sunday 
school  and  church  services.  Every  one  of  the  allies  is  repre- 
sented in  its  membership  and  seventeen  languages  are 
spoken  by  the  pupils  in  the  Sunday  school.  The  ministry  of 
this  most  useful  church  is  carried  on  in  the  English  language, 
except  among  the  adults.  For  these  there  are  a  preaching 
service,  Bible  class  and  prayer-meeting  in  Bohemian.  The 
success  of  the  work  done  is  seen  in  the  way  which  those 
taught  in  childhood  in  the  Sunday  school  have  remained  to 
become  the  present  oflBcial  leaders  of  the  church. 

In  the  jiow  old  ramshackle  frame  building  thousands 
have  received  their  first  and  best  interpretation  of  American 
democracy.  Their  early  conceptions  of  the  land  sought  by 
their  parents  has  had  in  it  all  the  content  of  Christian 
teaching.  Regardless  of  denominational  leanings,  they  have 
thronged  the  church  and  sought  the  services  of  the  pastor. 
Here  they  bring  their  babes  to  be  baptized.  Here  they  bring 
their  dead  for  the  last  solemn  rites  of  the  Christian  Church. 


OUE  FUTURE  CITIZENS  81 

Old  Broadway  becomes  a  home  to  them.  Their  ideals  and 
hopes  all  center  here.  For  here  the  spirit  of  the  Christ  is 
interpreted  to  them  in  terms  of  human  fellowship  and  serv- 
ice. All  degrees  of  the  process  of  transforming  immigrants 
into  Americans  are  found  here.  There  are  the  older  folks, 
who  have  slaved  and  toiled  at  hard  labor,  the  women  still 
wearing  a  shawl  for  a  headpiece.  And  there  are  the  younger 
people,  school  teachers,  bankers,  business  and  professional 
men.  And  the  children !  They  fairly  swarm  over  the  place. 
'  The  educated  new  generation  do  not  want  to  be  mis- 
sionized.  They  want  a  church  building  that  will  compare 
well  with  the  banks  and  other  fine  buildings  that  are  going 
up  in  the  neighborhood.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  has 
lost  its  hold  on  them.  They  must  be  taught  by  the  evangel- 
ical church.  But  a  ' 'mission"  savors  too  much  of  patronage 
to  them.  They  receive  their  education  in  fine  school  build- 
ings, why  not  their  religious  teaching  in  a  fine  church  build- 
ing? Why  not?  Is  not  the  implanting  of  the  principles  of 
Christianity  as  important  as  the  implanting  of  the  rule  of 
three,  cube  root,  and  political  geography?  As  an  evidence 
of  their  belief  in  the  value  of  the  Christian  Church  for  those 
of  their  people  who  have  not  experienced  the  blessings  which 
it  is  instrumental  in  bringing  to  one 's  life,  these  people  have 
decided  that  the  best  sort  of  a  church  building  shall  be  built. 
Large  enough,  fine  enough,  and  built  so  as  to  appeal  to  all 
classes  of  the  community,  Old  Broadway  Church  in  its  new 
material  garb  will  be  indeed  a  melting  pot  of  the  nations. 

Aided  in  a  most  generous  manner  by  the  man  who  has 
for  fifty  years  been  the  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school, 
a  fund  has  been  raised  to  meet  the  demands  which  the  new 
building  brings.  Assisted  by  the  Opportunity  Fund  of  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension,  a  church  is 
being  erected  which  will  make  possible  a  work  adequate 
to  the  opportunity  and  obligation  presented.  It  has  come 
none  too  soon.  The  lodge  and  other  organizations  are  mak- 
ing strong  bids  for  the  men  of  the  community.  Labor  unions 
are  lining  them  up  against  some  of  the  best  things  in  our 


82      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

democracy.  Atheist  and  infidel  are  calling  them  to  live  self- 
constituted  life-philosophies.  Which  will  win?  The  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ !  It  is  ministering  with  no  respect  to  per- 
son, condition,  or  creed.  It  is  interpreting  democracy  in  the 
terms  of  American  Christianity.  It  is  serving  the  peo])le  in 
their  hour  of  need  without  compensation  of  any  sort.  It  has 
the  open  sesame  to  the  nation's  best.  It  is  opening  the  way 
to  fine  living,  noble  thinking,  and  a  loyalty  to  the  stars  and 
stripes  that  means  much  for  the  days  ahead.  Overseas  the 
sons  of  Old  Broadway  are  fighting  to  help  make  the  world 
safe  for  democracy.  The  value  of  this  democracy  they  know 
because  they  are  sons  of  Old  Broadway. 

OuE  Day  of  Crisis 

What  has  been  done  in  the  effort  to  make  Christian 
democracy  the  daily  purpose  of  the  immigrant  is  but  a  faint 
foreshadowing  of  what  must  be  done.  Immigration  is  now 
practically  at  a  standstill ;  eighty  per  cent  of  those  who  to- 
day seek  entrance  to  the  United  States  are  Negro,  Mexican, 
Portuguese,  and  other  Latin  Americans.  But  when  autoc- 
racy has  been  forever  crushed  to  earth  there  will  be  an  un- 
precedented rush  of  alien  peoples  to  our  shores.  The  devas- 
tation of  the  old  home  lands  will  drive  thousands  to  the 
United  States.  The  attractiveness  of  a  settled  and  prosper- 
ous country  will  be  too  strong  an  appeal  to  withstand. 
Economic  conditions  in  Europe  will  be  such  that  skilled 
artisans  who  escape  the  physical  dangers  of  war  will  seek 
employment  in  America  at  the  only  task  to  which  they  have 
devoted  a  lifetime  of  work.  Political  conditions  will  stimu- 
late those  who  fear  a  possible  future  like  the  past  to  bid  fare- 
well to  the  land  of  their  birth.  Social  conditions  also  will 
bring  pressure  to  bear  upon  the  peasant  who  has  heard  dur- 
ing these  years  of  bloodshed  of  the  possibilities  of  equality 
in  the  *Mand  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave."  Spir- 
itual motives  will  impel  others  to  sail  over  the  sea  as  did 
their  ancestors  years  ago,  to  a  land  where  God  may  be  wor- 
shiped in  the  Spirit. 


OUR  FUTURE  CITIZENS  83 

They  will  come,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  them.  They 
will  begin  to  arrive  at  the  very  time  when  we  are  busy  try- 
ing to  readjust  our  own  affairs  after  the  strain  of  war.  Nor 
will  it  be  entirely  a  service  of  benefit  to  them  that  we  will 
render  by  being  ready.  Our  own  national  life  will  be 
affected  by  the  sort  of  people  that  come.  Pestilential  disease 
will  drive  us  to  greater  medical  care  in  the  examination  of 
immigrants.  The  barriers  that  we  raise  or  lower  to  the  immi- 
grant will  have  to  be  considered  on  other  than  grounds  of 
emotional  charity.  It  is  essential  that  every  citizen  of  the 
United  States  study  the  situation  as  it  is  and  be  ready  to 
meet  the  issue  when  it  arrives.  It  will  be  here  in  the  form 
of  living  men  and  women  before  we  are  aware  of  it.  To 
begin  to  plan  then  will  be  too  late. 

Consider  the  dilemma  in  which  the  Christian  voter  will 
find  himself  if  wounded  and  crippled  European  soldiers 
unable  to  earn  a  livelihood  at  home  invade  our  industries. 
On  the  one  hand,  there  is  our  duty  to  protect  the  interests 
of  our  returned  veterans  in  industrial  fields  by  a  refusal 
to  permit  the  alien  to  land.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  the 
pathetic  figure  of  the  allied  soldier  who  has  stood  shoulder 
to  shoulder  with  our  own  sons  in  the  great  fight  for  right- 
eousness and  permanent  peace.  Shall  the  fruits  for  which 
he  sacrificed  his  best  physical  powers  be  denied  him  in  the 
hour  of  victory?  The  church  must  be  a  strong  influence  in 
the  adjustment  of  th^se  and  kindred  questions  when  the  post- 
bellum  immigration  begins.  They  cannot  be  answered  ex- 
cathedra.  The  social  and  industrial  implications  as  well  as 
the  moral  and  religious  aspects  of  each  question  must  be 
thought  through  to  the  end.  No  problem  has  ever  been  pre- 
sented to  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  equal  in  difiiculty  and 
importance  to  that  which  is  now  shaping  up  for  the  days 
just  ahead. 

Concerning  Women 

The   status    of  woman   in   society  has   been   forever' 
changed  by  the  conditions  brought  about  by  the  war.    With 


84      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

the  manhood  of  Europe  under  arms,  women  have  been  com- 
pelled to  turn  to  occupations  hitherto  regarded  as  exclu- 
sively belonging  to  men.  With  millions  of  men  slain  on  the 
field  of  battle  there  will  be  an  overwhelming  preponderance 
of  women  in  Europe  during  this  generation.  These  women 
will,  because  of  industrial  training  during  the  period  of  the 
war,  be  fitted  for  permanent  work  of  this  character.  Amer- 
ica will  become  the  desired  goal  of  their  future  labors.  With 
an  invasion  of  female  labor,  social  and  industrial  conditions 
will  have  to  undergo  rapid  changes.  Moral  and  spiritual  in- 
fluences will  have  to  be  strengthened.  Woman  as  such  will 
have  to  be  considered,  regardless  of  whether  or  not  she  is  a 
**  foreigner. "  The  old  ways  of  dealing  with  the  men  who 
came  from  across  the  seas  in  the  old  days  will  not  do  in 
meeting  the  needs  of  these  independent  representatives  of 
the  new  day. 

Those  who  mastered  the  immigrant  question  for  the 
church  in  other  days  have  now  a  new  lesson  to  learn.  New 
means  of  spiritual  and  moral  protection  must  be  discovered 
for  the  immigrant  woman,  or  gross  injustice  will  be  done  her 
despite  all  legal  protection.  She  will  become  the  mother  of 
our  future  citizens.  Her  blood  will  mingle  with  the  blood  of 
our  own  sons.  Her  boys  and  girls  will  be  our  grandchildren. 
It  is  more  than  a  national  question.  It  is  so  personal  that  it 
strikes  at  each  of  our  homes.  These  women  will  arrive  alone 
and  unprotected.  The  ways  of  those  who  live  in  the  cities  of 
our  ports  of  entry  will  Ije  new  and  strange  to  them.  They 
must  be  met  and  cared  for  until  they  become  somewhat  ad- 
justed to  the  new  conditions.  Otherwise  they  will  be  at  the 
mercy  of  those  who,  in  the  guise  of  friends,  will  exploit  them 
and  increase  the  moral  disaster  of  our  great  cities. 

What  an  opportunity  for  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  to 
demonstrate  a  love  for  the  daughters  of  all  peoples  I  Hus- 
bands and  fathers  killed  for  the  cause  of  democracy,  they 
will  be  seeking  the  vision  for  which  their  men  laid  down  their 
lives.  Shall  they  find  it,  or  shall  the  wolves  of  society  snatch 
them  away  before  they  have  a  chance  to  live  as  women  live 


OUR  FUTURE  CITIZENS  85 

in  the  United  States  ?  Close  up  to  the  port  of  entry  must  the 
church  increase  its  vigilance.  Day  and  night  must  the  dea- 
coness of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  be  found  on  duty. 
It  is  not  a  man's  task.  Only  the  best  type  of  Christian 
womanhood  is  equal  to  the  task.  What  has  been  done  by 
way  of  greeting  the  immigrant  woman  in  the  past  must  be 
done  in  the  future.  But  there  must  be  more  of  it.  The 
church  must  provide  a  larger  force.  It  must  be  able  to  guard 
the  immigrant  woman  from  the  hour  she  lands  until  that  day 
when  self-poised  and  adjusted  she  is  able  to  make  her  way 
alone. 

What  Is  Our  Problem  ? 
I 

We  talk  about  the  immigrant  as  though  he  was  not  a 
part  of  us.  Yet  what  a  revelation  comes  from  reading  the 
casualty  lists  from  the  battlefront  overseas!  One  fourth 
of  the  arm-bearing  power  of  our  nation  is  foreign  born.  A 
morning  newspaper  picked  up  at  random  is  evidence  of  the 
fact  that  we  are  all  largely  Americans  by  adoption.  In  the 
lists  of  killed  and  wounded  we  find  officers  and  privates  alike 
whose  names  read  as  follows:  Shanoff,  Winkler,  Marosco, 
Nazzareno,  Vaillancourt^  Walczak,  Papernick,  Koskoska, 
Adamowyzc,  Olgivie,  Ralicki,  Neitzke,  Helwig,  Liddi,  Haig, 
Svegan,  Bekas,  Gotschall,  Pelarz,  Alcorage,  and  the  like. 
Why  not  recognize  that  in  meeting  the  question  of  Christian 
democracy  for  the  non-English-speaking  people  of  the 
United  States  and  those  who  will  come  later,  we  are  solving 
our  own  problem?  This  query  gains  importance  when  we 
consider  the  way  in  which  our  entire  industrial  system  is 
carried  on  by  those  whom  we  have  unjustly  called  "for- 
eigners. ' ' 

Our  guests  have  become  more  than  alien  visitors.  They 
are  of  our  own  household,  and  patriotism  is  as  fervent  with 
them  as  it  is  with  us.  The  great  industries  that  make  pos- 
sible the  speediest  victory  and  termination  of  the  war  are 
manned  largely,  if  not  almost  entirely,  by  men  from  other 
countries. 


86      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

Seven  out  of  every  ten  who  work  in  iron  are  immigrants. 

Seven  out  of  every  ten  miners  of  bituminous  coal  are 
immigrants. 

Three  out  of  four  living  in  the  packing  towns  are  from 
abroad,  or  children  of  those  who  have  been  born  abroad. 

Four  out  of  every  five  engaged  in  the  silk  industry  are 
immigrants. 

Seven  out  of  eight  employed  in  woolen  mills  are  immi- 
grants. Nine  out  of  ten  engaged  in  refining  petroleum  are 
also  immigrants. 

Nineteen  out  of  twenty  who  produce  our  sugar  supplies 
are  also  immigrants. 

And  seven  out  of  eight  who  keep  our  railroads  safe  were 
born  over  our  borders. 

In  every  instance  these  industries  mentioned  are  of  the 
most  vital  importance  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  How 
far  the  ofttimes  despised  immigrant  has  measured  up  to  his 
task  in  increasing  and  improving  outi)ut  is  a  matter  of  com- 
mon knowledge.  His  support  of  the  Red  Cross,  his  war  sav- 
ings, and  his  Liberty  Loan  subscriptions  compare  with  the 
record  of  any  other  proud  patriot  of  the  oldest  stock  in 
America. 

If  all  these  have  not  yet  caught  the  vision  of  Christian 
democracy,  it  means  that  as  a  nation  we  have  not  yet  estab- 
lished that  for  which  our  sons  are  fighting.  Is  not  our  prob- 
lem one  that  must  lay  bare  our  own  neglect  ?  Have  we  not 
the  challenge  to  set  in  order  our  own  household?  Shall  the 
sons  of  other  lands  bring  to  us  that  which  we  thought  that 
we  possessed?  The  times  are  alive  with  the  spirit  of 
achievement.  *  *  We  must  succeed ! "  is  the  slogan  of  the  hour. 
What  answer  is  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  going  to  give  to 
the  challenge  which  meets  it  at  this  important  point?  To 
succeed  in  giving  every  race  and  tongue  within  our  borders 
the  ideals  of  Christian  democracy  in  everyday  terminology' 
and  practical  demonstration  means  a  hastening  of  that  day 
when  brotherhood  shall  be  a  fact.    Nay,  more,  it  means  the 


OUR  FUTURE  CITIZENS  87 

hastening  of  the  time  when  the  United  States  of  America 
shall  be  not  only  spokesman  for  world  democracy,  but  also 
an  illustration  of  that  righteousness  and  justice  which  Chris- 
tian democracy  alone  can  establish. 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  Why  is  ''foreigner"  an  incorrect  appellation  for 
the  immigrant  to-day? 

2.  Is  Christian  democracy  an  absolute  necessity  for  the 
immigrant?    Why? 

3.  In  what  way  did  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
bid  the  immigrant  welcome  in  former  years  ? 

4.  Discuss  the  difficulties  of  assimilating  the  immi- 
grant. 

5.  What  is  the  Bureau  of  Foreign  Work  of  the  Board 
of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church? 

6.  Discuss  its  plans  for  Italian  parishes  and  Italian 
leadership. 

7.  How  are  these  plans  adapted  to  other  non-English- 
speaking  people  ? 

8.  Discuss  the  plans  and  equipment  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  for  Latin- Americans ;  Italians ;  Bo- 
hemians. Supplement  these  with  your  knowledge  of  local 
work  of  this  sort. 

9.  What  elements  make  to-day  "a  day  of  crisis"  for 
the  church  and  the  nation? 

10.  In  what  way  does  the  immigrant  woman  now  be- 
come an  important  figure  in  our  national  life  ? 

11.  What  is  our  real  problem  in  connection  with  the 
immigrant  ? 

12.  Discuss  the  obligation  to  the  immigrant  revealed 
by  the  war. 

13.  To  what  extent  are  we  dependent  industrially  upon 
the  immigrant  ? 

14.  Why  is  it  obligatory  for  the  church  to  give  Chris- 


88      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

tian  democracy,  both  by  precept  and  example,  to  every  for- 
eign-born dweller  among  us? 

15.    To  what  extent  is  the  poem  quoted  below  a  picture 
of  the  city  "foreigners'  "  condition  and  need? 

Where  cross  the  crowded  ways  of  life. 

Where  sound  the  cries  of  race  and  clan, 

Above  the  noise  of  selfish  strife, 

We  hear  thy  voice,  O  Son  of  man! 

In  haunts  of  wretchedness  and  need. 

On  shadowed  thresholds  dark  with  fears. 

From  paths  where  hide  the  lures  of  greed. 
We  catch  the  vision  of  thy  tears. 

From  tender  childhood's  helplessness. 

From  woman's  grief,  man's  burdened  toil. 

From  famished  souls,  from  sorrow's  stress. 
Thy  heart  has  never  known  recoil. 

The  cup  of  water  given  for  thee 

Still  holds  the  freshness  of  thy  grace; 

Yet  long  these  multitudes  to  see 

The  sweet  compassion  of  thy  face. 

O  Master,  from  the  mountainside, 

Make  haste  to  heal  these  hearts  of  pain> 

Among  these  restless  throngs  abide, 
O  tread  the  city's  streets  again. 

Till  sons  of  men  shall  learn  thy  love 

And  follow  where  thy  feet  have  trod: 

Till  glorious  from  thy  heaven  above 
Shall  come  the  city  of  our  God. 

— F.  Mason  North. 


We  are  awaking  suddenly  to  a  realization  that  so  far  from  our 
home  missionary  work  being  over,  it  is  scarcely  begun,  and  so  far 
from  its  scene  being  confined  to  the  western  regions  which  we  have 
regarded  as  the  home  mission  field  par  excellence,  the  storm  centers  of 
home  missions  are  the  strongholds  of  the  older  Protestantism,  the  great 
cities  of  the  East,  and  the  country  churches.  The  causes  of  the  change 
are  obvious.  They  are  found  in  the  emergence  of  a  new  situation.  The 
rapid  influx  of  foreigners,  the  massing  of  men  in  the  great  cities,  the 
denuding  of  country  districts,  the  growth  of  class  consciousness  with 
all  the  social  and  industrial  problems  which  it  has  brought  in  its  train — 
here  we  have  a  variety  of  causes  which  raake  demands  upon  our  churches 
of  a  startling  and  unexpected  kind. — William  Adams  Brown,  in  Prob- 
lems and  Possibilities  of  American  Protestantism. 

The  chi^rch  has  been  altogether  too  much  concerned  about  saving 
herself,  and  too  little  concerned  in  the  redemption  of  the  conununity. 
It  goes  without  saying  that  just  the  moment  the  church  becomes  more 
interested  in  her  own  life  than  she  is  in  the  life  of  the  people,  she  is  at 
once  disqualified  for  rendering  efficient  service  for  the  uplift  of  the  world. 
The  Centenary  is  furnishing  a  magnificent  opening  for  the  church  to 
discover  herself,  her  interests  and  ambitions,  her  abilities  and  disabili- 
ties, and  her  purposes  and  designs  for  and  on  the  race.  It  is  also 
furnishing  the  Department  of  City  Work  of  the  Board  of  Home  Mis- 
sions and  Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  a 
splendid  opportunity  to  make  a  statement  of  program  for  the  cities 
throughout  the  land,  and  to  press  the  challenge  of  God  down  upon  the 
people  in  a  way  commensurate  to  the  need.  God  has,  perhaps,  never 
had  a  fair  opportunity  to  force  his  claims  on  men.  In  this  Centenary, 
for  the  first  time  he  will  have  a  fair  chance  to  make  an  impression  on 
the  heart  of  the  world. — Melvin  P.  Burns. 

The  spirit  of  democracy  is  astir  in  the  world  as  never  before. 
Ancient  limitations  and  restraints  are  being  cast  aside,  dynasties  and 
autocracies  overthrown.  The  way  is  opening  for  a  new  world  in 
which  social  justice  and  cooperation  and  brotherhood  shall  take  the 
place  of  individualism  and  self-seeking  and  exploitation.  But  the  new 
world  will  need  a  new  spirit,  the  spirit  of  self-control,  idealism,  re- 
sponsibility and  service.  It  is  this  new  power  which  society  must  some- 
how develop  through  religion  and  education,  working  hand  in  hand. — 
Benjamin  8.  Winchester,  in  Religious  Education  and  Democracy. 


CHAPTER  IV 
'* WHERE  CROSS  THE  CROWDED  WAYS  OF  LIFE" 

The  City  Democracy's  Stronghold 

Democracy's  strongholds  must  ever  be  in  our  great 
American  cities.  Here  the  currents  of  life  flow  most  swiftly 
and  mingle  most  readily.  Not  only  are  the  nations  of  t!ie 
earth  elbowing  each  other  from  pillar  to  post,  the  philos- 
ophies of  the  world  are  also  given  utterance.  Only  a  firmly 
entrenched  Americanism  can  withstand  the  swirling  mael- 
strom of  the  ideas  and  ideals  which  have  wrecked  nations  in 
other  lands.  Only  a  Christian  democracy  can  dig  in  deeply 
enough  to  give  Americanism  a  fair  chance  to  become  a  dom- 
inating force  among  these  constantly  shifting  currents  of 
thought  and  life.  In  communities  like  that  over  which  the 
Master  wept,  his  disciples  of  to-day  are  forced  to  accept  a 
challenge  to  influence  life  so  as  to  establish  more  securely 
the  very  foundations  of  our  national  life,  or  see  them  swept 
away  forever. 

Boastful  Bigness 

With  a  wild  joy  we  have  seen  the  United  States  becom- 
ing a  nation  of  cities.  We  have  boastfully  pointed  out  the 
fact  that  46.3  per  cent  of  our  people  live  "where  cross  the 
crowded  ways  of  life. ' '  The  fact  that  in  fifteen  States  more 
than  half  the  people  live  in  cities  has  been  one  of  our  talking 
points.  But  the  scheme  of  things  was  not  planned  for 
growth  in  city  population  from  29.5  per  cent  in  1880  to  36.1 
in  1890, and  to  40.5  in  1900.  We  have  created  a  type  of  com- 
munity that  has  outgrown  our  control.  It  is  swinging  along 
at  a  speed  beyond  anticipation.  One  hundred  years  ago 
there  was  not  a  city  in  the  United  States  that  would  now 

91 


92      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

rank  as  second  class.  To-day  there  are  226  cities  of  over 
25,000  population,  153  of  from  25,000  to  100,000,  and  73  of 
over  100,000.  Great  material  blessings  have  come  with  the 
development  of  these  cities.  The  opportunities  aiTorded 
l)eople  in  every  station  of  life  have  increased.  Yet  with  all 
this  have  also  come  some  of  the  most  difficult  conditions  for 
demonstrating  the  principles  of  Christian  democracy  with 
which  the  nation  has  ever  had  to  deal. 

Our  boastfulness  turns  to  dismay  as  we  watch  the 
crowds  pouring  into  the  subway  entrances.  The  congestion 
of  the  sidewalks  where  once  the  folk  with  leisure  were  wont 
id  promenade,  prompts  the  query,  ''Where  are  we  going?" 
With  ineffectual  protest  we  endeavor  to  stem  the  tide.  We 
cry  out  with  a  voice  unheard  because  of  the  city's  ceaseless 
roar.  Our  plan  for  the  people  of  the  city  is  scarcely  noticed 
by  the  multitude.  We  suddenly  realize  that  we  have  spent 
too  much  time  cheering  over  our  bigness  and  too  little  in 
strengthening  the  foundations  of  our  city  life  as  the  com- 
munity has  spread  out  and  the  character  of  its  population 
has  changed.  Even  the  arrival  of  the  day  of  efficiency  has 
not  saved  the  situation.  Standardized  plans  have  broken 
down.  Bewildered  and  baffled  for  the  time,  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ  stands  among  the  city  throngs  considering  a 
problem  which  changes  so  rapidly  that  instant  action  alone 
can  have  any  value. 

Two  Types  of  Cities 

Of  course  cities  vary.  Those  of  the  older  type,  such  as 
Boston,  Chicago,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia,  have  for  the 
most  part  become  settled  in  their  traditions  and  ways  of  do- 
ing things.  It  i§  difficult  to  influence  their  life  in  any  funda- 
mental way.  They  have  become  institutions  of  tremendous 
power.  The  hurrying  rush  of  life  and  the  insistent  problems 
which  constantly  multiply  give  little  opportunity  for  the 
redirection  of  mislaid  plans  or  the  correction  of  errors  of 
judgment  in  earlier  days.    This  condition  holds  not  only  for 


''WHERE  CROSS  THE  CROWDED  WAYS"      93 

the  layout  of  the  city,  but  also  for  the  habits  and  thought  of 
the  people.  It  makes  reforms  difficult.  No  large  proportion 
of  the  city's  population  can  be  reached  with  force  and  power 
at  a  given  time.  The  message  has  to  be  rearranged  and  re- 
translated so  many  times  before  it  comes  to  the  last  man 
that  its  significance  is  somewhat  lost.  Mere  numbers  and 
variety  of  types  of  mind  slow  down  the  speediest  of  propa- 
ganda. 

The  newer  cities  have  developed  in  a  more  normal  way. 
They  have  anticipated  largeness  in  the  coming  years.  Ob- 
serving the  experience  of  older  and  larger  cities,  they  have 
done  their  municipal  planning  with  judicious  foresight. 
Business,  industrial  and  residence  sections,  schools  and 
churches,  parks  and  public  meeting  places  have  all  been  pro- 
vided for.  The  result  has  been  to  make  possible  the  intro- 
duction of  new  ideas  in  a  way  that  would  reach  the  people 
in  a  natural  way.  Minneapolis  is  an  excellent  illustration 
of  this  more  modern  city  development. 

Figures  of  Growth 

The  sawdust-box  council  around  the  stove  in  the  cross- 
roads general  store  is  not  the  only  place  where  off-hand  solu- 
tions are  given  for  all  the  ills  of  the  world.  Our  cities  are 
cursed  with  the  same  sort  of  academic  benefactors  of  the 
community.  They  may  gather  around  a  mahogany  desk, 
but  their  methods  of  reaching  conclusions  and  the  value  of 
their  suggestions  are  equally  worthless.  They  figure  out 
that  the  growth  of  American  cities  is  rapid.  But  unless  a 
solution  to  its  problem  is  offered  what  is  the  value  of  know- 
ing that  since  1870  Saint  Louis  has  increased  its  population 
220  per  cent ;  Boston,  230  per  cent ;  New  York,  270  per  cent ; 
Philadelphia,  275  per  cent;  Pittsburgh,  310  per  cent;  Erie, 
460  per  cent ;  Toledo,  660  per  cent ;  Cleveland,  725  per  cent ; 
Chicago,  830  per  cent;  Detroit,  930  per  cent;  Akron,  1,400 
per  cent;  and  Los  Angeles,  10,200  per  cent?  We  may  put 
our  figures  in  the  form  of  a  graph  and  get  the  following : 


94     CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 


RAPID  GROWTH  OF  CITIES 


Population 
l.(>00'sl&60       1870       1880       1890       1900       1910    BH 


DtTROIT.  MICH 


LOSANGELES.CAL. 


SEATTLE.WASH. 


TOLEDO.O. 


AKRON.O. 
>^RIE.PA. 

KLAHOMA  CITY, 
OKLA. 


What  Does  This  Growth  Mean  I 

Those  who  deal  in  figures  forget  that  most  people  think 
in  concrete  terms.  What  this  rapid  growth  has  meant  in  its 
effect  on  the  community  is  the  question  which  they  would 
have  answered.    They  want  to  know  if  this  increase  is  alone 


'^ WHERE  CROSS  THE  CROWDED  WAYS"      95 

responsible  for  forcing  the  people  out  into  the  suburbs  as 
business  has  crowded  its  way  further  and  further  uptown. 
They  formerly  lived  within  walking  distance  of  their  busi- 
ness. A  healthy  community  spirit  prevailed.  The  interest 
of  the  entire  city  was  the  interest  of  each  individual.  They 
have  moved  without  question  when  their  homes  have  been 
turned  into  places  of  commercial  and  industrial  activity. 
They  have  seen  the  community  rechange  into  dwelling  places 
for  non-English-speaking  peoples.  The  old  time  American 
ways  of  the  community  have  given  place  to  customs  from 
the  old  world.  What  does  it  mean?  Who  shall  answer 
them?  Where  does  the  responsibility  rest  for  these 
changes  1  Who  has  permitted  the  democracy  of  our  fathers 
to  become  diluted  in  the  streams  of  un-American  thought  and 
customs'?  It  is  no  idle  question  which  the  city's  teeming 
millions  are  asking. 

Some  Penalties  of  Growth 

complex  life 

Life  becomes  very  complex  in  the  crowded  city.  Social 
conditions  both  in  the  contact  with  one's  fellows  and  the  ordi- 
nary social  activities  are  of  such  character  that  life  has  be- 
come an  incessant  rush.  In  the  place*  of  the  ordinary  forms 
of  home  entertainment  and  similar  diversions  people  now 
pay  for  their  amusements.  No  longer  is  found  the  old-time 
neighborhood  and  community  life.  A  sort  of  exclusiveness 
characterizes  most  city  people.  One  may  live  in  an  apart- 
ment house  for  months  and  never  know  who  the  people  are 
above  or  below,  to  the  left  or  to  the  right.  Nor  does  one 
care.  The  vast  scale  upon  which  everything  is  carried  on 
creates  indifference  to  anything  not  immediately  of  con- 
cern to  the  individual.  A  selected  few  make  up  the  circle  of 
one 's  intimate  acquaintances.  Another  group  come  into  the 
hours  of  business.  A  third  group  are  met  at  lodge,  while,  if 
one  attends  church,  it  is  still  another.    As  for  the  multitudes, 


96      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

we  touch  elbows  with  them  daily,  not  knowing  or  caring  who 
they  are. 

THE  HOME  HAS  LOST 

The  home  has  suffered  in  some  of  the  larger  cities.  The 
building  of  large  apartment  or  tenement  houses  has  limited 
the  amount  of  space  which  one  can  afford  to  rent  to  two  or 
five  rooms.  There  is  not  much  chance  for  personal  privacy 
under  such  conditions.  A  common  gathering  of  the  family 
for  the  evening  hours  is  out  of  the  question.  The  home  is 
rapidly  becoming  a  place  where  people  go  to  sleep.  Electric 
lights  and  steam  radiators  fail  to  create  such  a  homey  at- 
mosphere as  the  center  table  reading  lamp  and  the  logs  afire 
on  the  andiron.  Bachelor  apartments  and  apartments  for 
bachelor  girls  are  on  the  increase.  More  and  more  is  there 
a  tendency  to  board.  For  those  who  must  live  from  seven  to 
eleven  in  two  rooms,  and  even  six  in  one,  where  poor  ventila- 
tion and  lighting  as  well  as  inadequate  furnishing  character- 
ize the  place,  ''home'*  does  not  have  its  old-time  meaning. 
And  of  these  latter  there  are  literally  hundreds  of  thousands 
in  the  United  States.  Home  has  ever  been  the  hearthstone 
of  American  democracy.  Here  its  principles  have  been 
made  clear  to  the  growing  boys  and  girls.  To  the  civic  basis 
given  in  the  public  schools  have  been  added  the  moral  and 
religious  aspects  of  the  doctrine.  Have  modernity  and  our 
great  city  robbed  us  of  something  which  must  be  supplied  in 
some  other  way  and  by  some  other  agency? 


CONGESTED  POPULATION 

Congestion  of  population  is  a  constantly  increasing  men- 
ace to  the  best  life  of  any  community.  In  New  York  city, 
below  Fourteenth  Street,  there  are  three  sections  where  the 
population  averages  800  to  the  acre,  and  four  sections  where 
it  averages  600  to  800  to  the  acre.  In  the  same  city  there  is 
a  block  whose  density  of  population  is  1,260  to  the  acre.  The 
children  are  affected  because  they  must  play  in  streets  over- 


"WHERE  CROSS  THE  CROWDED  WAYS"      97 

crowded  and  choked  with  city  traffic,  and  the  toll  of  their 
lives  each  year  is  exceedingly  heavy.  Not  only  is  bodily 
injury  apparent  in  these  sections  but  also  crime  and  vice  are 
bred  and  an  evil  economic  burden  is  seen  in  steadily  increas- 
ing rents  and  lower  wages. 

POLYGLOT  I>0PULATI0N 

A  great  deal  of  the  congestion  is  in  sections  occupied  by 
foreign  populations.  The  polyglot  character  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  cities  of  the  United  States  is  seen  in  the  follow- 
ing figures  for  twenty  cities,  which  have  the  largest  foreign 
population,  including  native  whites  of  foreign  or  mixed  par- 
entage : 

Fall  Eiver,  Massachusetts 86.7  per  cent 

New  York  City,  New  York 80.7  per  cent 

Lowell,   Massachusetts 80 . 5  per  cent 

Chicago,   Illinois 79.6  per  cent 

Milwaukee,  Wisconsin 78 .9  per  cent 

Paterson,  New  Jersey 77 . 4  per  cent 

Boston,  Massachusetts , 76 . 5  per  cent 

Cleveland,  Ohio 76 .4  per  cent 

Cambridge,    Massachusetts 75 . 6  per  cent 

Detroit,    Michigan 75 . 3  per  cent 

Bridgeport,   Connecticut 73 .4  per  cent 

Providence,  Rhode  Island 73.3  per  cent 

Newark,  New  Jersey 72.7  per  cent 

San  Francisco,  California 72.3  per  cent 

Jersey  City,  New  Jersey 72.0  per  cent 

Buffalo,  New  York 71.8  per  cent 

New  Haven,  Connecticut 71.8  per  cent 

I            Worcester,  Massachusetts 71 . 6  per  cent 

Saint  Paul,  Minnesota 71 . 3  per  cent 

Scranton,  Pennsylvania 70.2  per  cent 

An  excellent  illustration  of  the  cosmopolitan  character 
of  the  modern  city  and  its  racial  distribution  is  seen  in  the 
following  study  of  the  population  of  the  city  of  Chicago. 
According  to  the  school  census  of  May  4,  1914,  the  popula- 
tion of  the  city  of  Chicago  was  2,437,526.    The  different  na- 


98      CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

tionalities  of  this  population  are  represented  according  to 
the  following  figures : 

American-born,  white 752,111  or  30.1  per  cen 

Gernlan*  399,977  or  16.1  per  cen 

Polish*  231,346  or    9.2  per  cen 

Russian*  166,134  or    6.6  per  cen 

Irish    146,560  or    5.9  per  cen 

Swedish 118,533  or    4.8  per  cen 

Italian 108,160  or    4.3  per  cen 

Bohemian   102,749  or    4.1  per  cen 

Austrian*   58,483  or    2.3  per  cen 

Negro   54,557  or    2.2  per  cen 

Norwegian  47,496  or    1.9  per  cen 

English    45,714  or    1.8  per  cen 

Canadian   44,744  or    1.8  per  cen 

Hungarian    31,863  or    1.3  per  cen 

Lithuanian   24,650  or    1.0  per  cen 

Danish    22,394  or    1.0  per  cen 

Scotch    17,662  or    0.9  per  cen 

Hollander  16,914  or    0.7  per  cen 


96.     per  cent 

Americanization  Must  Be  Rapid 

This  state  of  affairs  but  emphasizes  the  location  where 
the  church  and  every  other  American  institution  must  do  its 
best  work  at  a  rapid  speed.  The  necessary  assimilation  is 
sorely  hindered  by  the  economic  oppression  and  social  in- 
justice which  has  to  be  met  by  these  people  of  diverse 
thought  and  manner  of  life.  There  is  no  magic  word  that 
may  be  spoken  with  the  result  that  the  fine-spirited  Christian 
American  leaps  out  from  the  place  where  stood  the  **  for- 
eigner." The  process  is  the  slow  one  of  life  contact  whereby 
the  ''foreigner"  beholds  the  doctrine  of  Christian  democ- 
racy in  the  concrete  and  accepts  it  because  he  sees  that  it 

*  The  larger  number  of  Jews  of  the  city  belong  to  the  nationalities 
starred. 

A  foreigner  is  one  born  outside  of  the  United  States  or  whose  parents 
or  father  were  foreign  born. 


"WHEEE  CROSS  THE  CROWDED  WAYS"      99 


is  good.  The  fact  that  these  people  for  the  most  part  gather 
in  colonies  peculiar  to  their  racial  heritage  challenges  to  a 
leadership  capable  of  bringing  to  Little  Italy,  the  Ghetto,  or 
Bohemia  the  practice  of  all  that  we  want  them  to  be. 


100    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

City  Dwellers  Migratory 

The  people  of  the  city  are  migratory  in  character. 
There  is  little  tendency  to  spend  one's  life  in  the  house  where 
life  has  its  beginning.  And  to  move  from  city  to  city  is  a 
commonplace.  A  page  from  the  records  of  a  well-known 
city  church  gives  concrete  significance  to  this  habit.  When 
the  present  pastor  took  charge  four  years  ago  the  member- 
ship was  195.  He  has  since  then  received  by  letter  117  and 
from  preparatory  membership  101,  a  total  of  218,  which 
would  increase  his  membership  to  413.  But  during  the  same 
time  47  have  removed  by  letter  to  other  churches,  and  113 
have  moved  overnight  without  leaving  any  trace  of  them- 
selves; 10  have  died.  These  170  reduce  the  membership  to 
243.  Boarding  house  personnels  change  daily.  Young  mar- 
ried people  with  no  ties  to  bind  them  to  particular  locations 
move  frequently.  The  effect  on  real  estate  agencies  is  to 
increase  the  insistence  on  yearly  leases.  The  church  has  no 
such  advantage.  It  must  leaven  the  lives  of  people  while 
they  are  in  the  community.  It  must  so  grip  them  with  its 
message  and  opportunity  for  service  that  they  will  seek  out 
another  church  in  the  community  to  which  they  move. 

Church  Leaders  Not  Alert 

This  moving  tendency  is  often  a  part  of  a  change  in  the 
national  characteristics  of  the  community.  Those  who  for 
political  and  business  purposes  have  watched  these  changes 
for  years  are  awake  to  what  may  be  expected.  They  see  the 
Irish  followed  in  succession  by  the  Italian,  the  Slav,  the  Pole, 
the  Hebrew,  and  the  Oriental.  The  leaders  of  the  church  are 
not  as  wise  as  these  other  leaders  of  the  people.  They  wait 
until  the  community  has  made  impossible  the  ministry  of  a 
church  along  the  lines  laid  out  for  it  before  the  change. 
They  bemoan  the  lack  of  foresight  of  the  fathers.  And  then 
they  neglect  the  opportunity  to  prepare  for  the  next  change 
and  underman  the  dying  church  which  still  stands  among  a 
community  of  people  needing  its  ministry. 


''WHERE  CROSS  THE  CROWDED  WAYS"    IQl 

New  York  city  is  fruitful  in  illustrations  of  the  failure 
of  the  church  either  to  recognize  or  to  meet  the  new  condi- 
tions. Since  the  early  eighties,  during  which  time  the  popu- 
lation increased  by  more  than  200,000  in  that  section,  100 
Protestant  institutions  moved  out  of  the  lower  East  Side. 
Those  churches  that  remained  failed  to  notice  that  anything 
had  occurred  to  the  community.  One,  the  Duane  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  established  before  1787,  had  an 
endowment  of  $75,000  left  it  on  condition  that  it  remain  be- 
low Spring  Street.  It  remained.  It  still  remains,  but  only  as 
a  repository  for  the  remnants  of  the  old  families  who  still 
live.  It  is  in  a  polyglot  community,  but  it  is  not  a  force  in  the 
lives  of  these  non-English-speaking  people.  Washington 
Square  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  another  instance  of 
failure  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  community.  Historically 
strong  and  with  a  long  list  of  great  preachers,  possessing  a 
$300,000  endowment  which  came  from  a  merger  with  the 
Asbury  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  its  tendency  has  been 
to  furnish  good  preaching  for  its  membership  and  neglect  to 
see  any  obligation  to  the  foreign  population  which  had 
grown  up  around  it.  Other  churches  have  eaten  up  their 
property  with  mortgages  for  money  to  pay  the  running  ex- 
penses, without  rendering  service  to  their  immediate  com- 
munity. 

And  what  of  a  community  of  60,000  people  such  as  sur- 
rounds the  Central  Park  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Saint 
Paul,  Minnesota?  Where  thirteen  churches  once  ministered 
there  are  now  but  two  left.  The  boarding  house  and  room- 
ing population  has  increased.  Ten  thousand  transients 
mingle  for  brief  seasons  with  the  permanent  dwellers.  Now 
a  business  center,  it  will  soon  be  the  leading  factory  district 
of  the  city.  Must  this  church  follow  the  lead  of  the  eleven 
who  have  gone,  haul  down  the  flag  of  the  cross,  and  leave 
democracy's  fine  task  to  unchristian  forces? 

If  the  roll  were  to  be  called  on  this  dismal  phase  of  the 
failure  of  the  church  to  be  a  part  of  the  city's  growth  and 
change,  which  of  our  proud  cities  would  not  be  listed  with 


102    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

the  illustrations  just  cited?  Saint  Paul  and  New  York  do 
not  stand  alone  in  this  matter.  Nor  are  they  necessarily  the 
most  glaring  examples,  for  in  New  York  city  Methodism 
proclaims  the  gospel  in  eight  diiferent  languages.  They  are 
used  to  point  out  that  both  the  older  and  the  newer  types  of 
cities  are  equally  guilty  in  withholding  from  the  city's  multi- 
tudes the  message  for  the  deliverance  of  which  they  were 
built  and  dedicated  to  the  service  of  God.  Great  sections  of 
the  cities  populated  by  non-English-speaking  people,  occu- 
pied by  business  and  industrial  plants,  given  over  to  far  dif- 
ferent usages  than  in  the  days  of  our  fathers,  have  been  for- 
saken by  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  and  given  up  to  the 
enemies  of  both  democracy  and  Christianity.  If  Jesus  wept 
over  Jerusalem,  he  certainly  would  weep  over  the  cities  of 
the  United  States.  And  there  doubtless  would  be  a  bit  of 
scorn  in  his  expression,  as  drying  his  eyes  he  beheld  the 
stone  edifices  which  might  have  saved  the  cities  from  so 
much  woe,  a  mockery  to  the  truth  they  were  erected  to  teach, 
because  of  failure  to  minister  to  each  changing  need  as  it 
arose. 

The  City  Task  a  Hard  One 

It  is  difficult  to  analyze  the  religious  life  of  a  large  city. 
Occasionally  a  federation  of  churches  undertakes  a  survey 
of  this  character,  but  by  the  time  the  survey  is  finished  the 
constant  shifting  of  population  has  made  it  unreliable. 
Moreover,  almost  all  surveys  of  this  character  are  apt  to 
become  wooden,  and  all  too  frequently  the  heart  element  is 
lost  in  the  mass  of  statistics  gathered."  Besides,  the  same 
sort  of  a  study  made  in  different  cities  brings  very  different 
reactions.  There  is  a  somewhat  definite  character  to  every 
community.  Various  phases  of  community  life  are  ex- 
pressed in  terms  of  this  character.  This  is  none  the  less  true 
when  it  comes  to  religion,  for  we  find  religion  expressing 
itself  in  terms  of  all  life.  The  religious  statistician  and  sur- 
veyor frequently  overlook  this  fact,  and  because  they  find 
different  modes  of  expression  for  religion  in  different  cities 


"WHERE  CROSS  THE  CROWDED  WAYS".   103 

conclude  that  there  is  something  wrong  with  the  religion  in 
one  place  or  the  other. 

Many,  however,  are  awake  to  the  fact  that  religion  is 
expressing  itself  in  new  ways.  One  may  be  religious  and  not 
of  necessity  be  a  churchman.  Christianity  is  finding  oppor- 
tunities of  practical  expression  in  a  thousand  ways  that  the 
church  has  not  taken  into  its  program.  The  message  of  the 
church  has  been  accepted  literally  by  thousands  who  are 
now  expressing  the  religion  they  have  been  taught  in  prac- 
tical forms  of  life.  These  ways  have  to  do  with  home,  hous- 
ing, education,  wages,  neighborly  helpfulness,  the  rights  of 
the  down-trodden,  protest  against  unjust  burdens,  and  the 
like.  The  Christian  Church  must  adapt  itself  to  the  new  de- 
mand in  order  to  become  a  channel  for  this  new  expression 
of  its  own  message. 

Meeting  the  New  Demand 

The  church  in  some  cities  has  made  isolated  attempts  to 
meet  the  new  situation.  Saint  George's  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church,  New  York  city,  conducts  a  trade  school  for 
the  young  people  of  its  community  in  which  are  taught  man- 
ual training,  carpentry,  electrical  wiring,  sheet  metal, 
mechanical  drawing,  plumbing,  sign  painting,  and  printing. 
They  also  have  a  lunch  room  for  women  with  a  record 
number  of  506  lunches  in  one  day.  Athletics  and  gymnastics 
are  provided  for  boys  and  girls ;  baths  for  little  girls  average 
110  per  month.  A  Parish  nurse  examines  children,  and  free 
clinic  service  is  rendered.  In  the  educational  departments 
are  taught  the  care  of  the  sick,  first  aid,  cooking,  and  house- 
keeping. Regular  classes  are  held  in  dressmaking,  em- 
broidering, knitting,  and  crocheting.  The  Boys'  Club  has 
1,000  members  and  is  open  five  nights  a  week,  its  employ- 
ment bureau  placing  two  hundred  boys  in  good  positions  last 
year.  A  seaside  home  is  provided  for  women  and  children 
where  they  have  two  weeks '  vacation  in  summer. 

The  Seaman's  Church  Institute  of  New  York,  the  great- 
est institution  for  seamen  in  the  world,  is  meeting  in  a  re- 


104    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

markable  way  the  needs  of  the  thousands  of  transient  sailors 
who  are  in  the  city  for  a  month  or  less.  The  dormitories  and 
rooms  provide  reasonable  and  clean  lodgings  and  the  seamen 
can  obtain  everything  in  the  building  from  a  shave  to  a  new 
suit  of  clothes.  Game  rooms,  entertainment  hall,  and  read- 
ing rooms  provide  means  of  occupying  spare  time,  and  the 
popular  soda  fountain  is  in  successful  competition  with  the 
nearby  saloons.  Shipwrecked  sailors  and  the  survivors  of 
the  torpedoed  ships  are  brought  here  in  great  numbers  and 
are  given  lodging  and  clothing  and  care  in  the  various  de- 
partments. The  religious  life  is  looked  after  by  Russian, 
Swedish,  and  American  ministers,  who  conduct  services  in 
four  languages,  and  the  housemother  is  in  constant  demand 
with  those  who  need  advice  or  sympathy.  This  Institute  be- 
longs to  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

The  Halstead  Street  Institutional  Church  (Methodist 
Episcopal),  Chicago,  is  the  only  English-speaking  Pro- 
testant Church  and  Social  Settlement  for  50,000  people.  It 
is  located  among  foreign-speaking  people  and  demonstrates 
the  following  program : 

Moving  Picture  Entertainment — Monday  evening. 
Ladies'  Aid — Tuesday. 
Prayer  Meeting — Wednesday  evening. 
Mothers'  Sewing  Club — Thursday  afternoon. 
Men's  Brotherhood — Tuesday  evening. 
Chorus  Choir  Rehearsal — Friday  evening. 
Girls'  Cooking  Clubs — Every  afternoon  and  evening. 
Girls'  Sewing  School — Every  Saturday  afternoon. 
Children's  Service — Every  morning. 
Gymnasium  Classes — Every  afternoon  and  evening. 
Boys'  Industrial  Classes — Saturday  morning. 
Boys'  Club  Room — Open  evenings. 
Queen  Esther  Circle — Last  Sunday  of  each  month. 
Cafeteria  Noon  Lunch  for  Men  and  Women — Every  day  but  Satur- 
day and  Sunday. 

Daily  Vacation  Bible  School — Six  weeks  during  July  and  August. 

In  addition  to  this  it  conducts  a  free  dispensary  and  does  a 
large  amount  of  relief  work. 


*' WHERE  CROSS  THE  CROWDED  WAYS"    105 

The  Settlement  and  Church  of  All  Nations,  on  the 
lower  East  Side  of  New  York,  has  been  meeting  the  new 
demand.  It  was  founded  by  courageous  Christian  men  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  who  deplored  the  wholesale 
Protestant  desertion  of  that  thronging  immigrant  section  of 
the  metropolis.  In  the  midst  of  a  modern  Babel  this  center 
plays  the  role  of  "Good  Neighbor"  to  its  polyglot  com- 
munity. Five  languages  (Russian,  Chinese,  Italian,  Yiddish, 
and  English)  are  at  present  used  by  the  church  and  a 
half  dozen  more  will  be  added  when  the  funds  permit.  Eng- 
lish is  employed  in  all  work  among  foreign-born  children. 
There  may  be  hyphenated  Americans  among  immigrant 
adults,  but  the  immigrant  child  is  an  ardent  American  and  is 
treated  as  such.  Night  schools,  mothers'  meetings,  kinder- 
garten, clubs,  social  organizations,  prayer  and  preaching 
services  are  conducted  for  Italians.  Night  schools,  sewing 
schools,  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  kindergarten.  Boy  Scouts  and  girls' 
organizations  are  flourishing  departments  of  the  Chinese 
work.  Boys'  clubs  and  a  Jewish  mothers'  meeting  are  the 
present  activities  among  the  Jews.  The  outstanding  feat- 
ures in  the  Russian  department  are  the  Russian  Forum  and 
''.Enlightenment,"  a  Russian  religious  social  monthly  maga- 
zine. At  the  Forum  an  audience  that  has  frequently  totaled 
800  during  the  last  winter  gathers  weekly  for  the  lecture  and 
for  the  discussion  that  follows.  The  magazine  enables  the 
church  to  conduct  a  sane  propaganda  that  has  been  of  re- 
markable patriotic  service  during  these  intense  war  days.  A 
first-class  motion  picture  equipment  has  been  unrolling 
amusement  and  instruction  before  the  delighted  eyes  of  800 
young  people  on  winter  Saturday  evenings  for  the  past  nine 
years.  The  church  has  its  own  vacation  home  at  Long 
Branch,  New  Jersey,  where  workers,  babies,  and  working 
girls  can  enjoy  a  ten  days'  vacation  at  the  seashore. 

While  these  and  many  more  institutions  of  this  char- 
acter are  serving  the  Kingdom  and  the  city  in  a  large  way, 
the  church  in  general  has  clung  to  its  old  standard  program 
of  preaching,  Sunday  school,  prayer  meeting,  and  pastoral 


106    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

calls.  To  make  this  statement  is  not  to  depreciate  this  form 
of  ministry  nor  to  depTeciate  the  labors  of  the  countless  min- 
isters who  have  toiled  and  given  their  best  to  the  work  of  the 
Kingdom  in  the  city.  It  does,  however,  raise  the  question  as 
to  whether  the  church  in  any  large  way  has  sought  the  soul 
of  the  city ;  whether  it  has  noted  the  change  in  environment 
around  its  old  family  church ;  whether  it  has  merely  watched 
the  incoming  foreigner  and  has  not  noted  the  change  from 
a  Protestant  population  to  one  that  is  Catholic  or  Jewish. 

The  Residential  Section  and  the  Suburb 

In  the  sections  of  our  cities  now  known  as  residential 
the  church  is  in  a  flourishing  condition.  It  is  meeting  the 
problems  of  its  own  field  in  a  more  satisfactory  way  than  is 
the  downtown  church  which  has  just  been  discussed.  For 
one  reason  there  is  generally  a  larger  and  better-trained 
membership.  Those  who  once  carried  on  the  work  of  the 
church  downtown  are  now  the  officials  and  workers  here. 
Then  there  is  more  money  available  for  the  support  of  the 
church.  It  is  easier  to  get  stronger  preachers.  While  some 
churches  of  this  character  are  satisfied  to  minister  to  their 
own  membership,  others  have  adopted  a  widespread  com- 
munity program,  and  this  in  many  instances  takes  in  the 
partial  support  of  mission  work  in  the  more  needy  sections 
of  the  city.  The  problem  here  is  to  see  that  the  church  does 
not  become  self-centered  and  forget  both  its  missionary 
opportunity  and  obligation  in  its  own  home  town. 

Out  beyond  the  residential  section  of  the  city  lie  the 
suburbs.  A  serious  condition  exists  in  many  of  the  churches 
here.  Many  of  the  former  supporters  and  workers  of  the 
downtown  city  churches  have  homes  in  the  suburbs.  Not  all 
of  them  have  continued  to  be  active  workers  when  they  have 
become  suburbanites.  To  some  the  church  in  the  suburbs  is 
a  haven  of  rest — and  they  are  resting.  Away  from  the  cease- 
less roar  of  their  business  activities,  they  forget  the  religious 
necessities  of  those  who  call  home  the  very  business  district 
where  they  make  the  money  with  which  to  purchase  comfort 


''WHERE  CROSS  THE  CROWDED  WAYS"    107 

in  the  quiet  outside  communities.  Thus  the  church  has  the 
problem  of  stimulating  these  former  ' '  active ' '  members  into 
new  life.  It  must  arouse  the  suburban  church  to  its  obliga- 
tion to  the  struggling  church  in  the  city.  It  must  bring  the 
vision  of  connectionalism  to  those  who  have  forgotten  the 
Kingdom's  united  battle  in  the  satisfaction  of  hearing  good 
sermons  and  excellent  music. 


A  Question  foe  Methodism 

Methodism  is  well  organized  for  uniting  all  of  its 
churches  in  a  common  task.  The  city  and  its  environs  pre- 
sent one  of  the  best  opportunities  for  a  practical  demonstra- 
tion. Is  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  able  to  rise  to  the 
present-day  challenge  and  make  good? 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1916  provided  for  a  Department  of  City  Work 
as  a  part  of  the  reorganization  of  the  Board  of  Home  Mis- 
sions and  Church  Extension.  The  Department  of  City  Work 
carries  on  part  of  its  activities  through  the  City  Church 
Extension  Societies  of  the  church,  but  its  work  extends  be- 
yond the  limits  of  their  activities.  These  city  societies, 
which  may  be  formed  in  any  community  of  two  thousand 
five  hundred  or  more  having  three  or  more  Methodist  Epis- 
copal churches,  are  the  local  Home  Missionary  Societies  of 
the  Church.  Once  a  year  two  delegates  from  each  city 
society,  together  with  the  superintendent  of  the  Department 
of  City  Work,  and  the  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Board 
of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  meet  in  a  Council  of  Cities,  the  purpose 
of  which  is  to  discuss  the  obligation  of  Methodism  to  the  task 
of  the  city,  and  to  define  the  best  ways  of  bringing  the  gospel 
and  Christianized  social  service  into  the  lives  of  the  thou- 
sands of  unchurched  in  the  cities  of  the  land.  Out  of  the  ex- 
perience of  all  who  are  related  to  Methodist  Episcopal  work 
in  the  city  has  come  an  answer  to  the  question,  "What  should 
be  done  ? "    It  takes  the  form  of  a  definite  program  for  cities 


108    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

wliieli  have  not  worked  out  an  adequate  program  for  them- 
selves. 

Methodism's  Definite  City  Pbogbam 

A  great  denomination  should  have  some  central  head- 
quarters in  every  city.  Here  may  be  held  all  of  the  de- 
nominational gatherings,  the  offices  of  leaders  may  be  here, 
and  a  clearing  house  may  readily  be  established  for  all 
things  pertaining  to  the  program  for  the  redemption  of  the 
city  as  Methodism  is  related  to  it. 

THE   CENTRAL   DOWNTOWN    CHURCH 

First  of  all  it  should  be  a  church,  and  a  church  that  is 
planned  in  equipment  and  staff  on  the  broadest  and  strong- 
est lines.  No  ordinary  preacher  should  occupy  the  pulpit, 
but  a  prophet  whose  voice  carries  conviction  to  the  business 
men,  the  transients,  and  the  thousands  of  others  who  make 
its  section  their  dwelling  place  for  a  season.  The  city  is 
crying  out  for  a  message  of  hope  and  guidance  which  it  is 
able  to  understand.  Only  a  man  of  the  finest  religious  expe- 
rience and  personal  qualifications  can  meet  the  demand. 
Such  a  man  should  not  be  weighted  down  with  the  necessity 
of  raising  the  money  with  which  to  carry  on  its  work.  The 
forces  of  the  entire  city  Methodism  should  be  back  of  him. 

Associated  with  the  man  chosen  to  speak  forth  an  inter- 
pretation of  the  teachings  of  Jesus  in  terms  of  the  modern 
city  there  should  be  a  neighborhood  evangelist.  A  great 
task  and  a  fruitful  ministry  await  the  serious  labors  of  one 
who  will  find  the  homes  where  the  message  is  needed  and 
then  relate  the  whole  ministry  of  the  church  to  these  needs. 
Thousands  there  are  who  have  lost  sight  of  the  church,  who 
nevertheless  will  welcome  its  message  of  love  and  hope  when 
the  church  brings  it  to  them. 

Here  also  should  be  the  center  for  religious  training 
for  the  denomination.  A  thoroughly  equipped  director  of 
religious  education  should  center  the  religious  teacher  train- 
ing and  service  training  here  so  as  to  have  efficient  training 


''WHERE  CROSS  THE  CROWDED  WAYS"    109 

and  avoid  the  multiplying  of  small  inefficient  groups  in  the 
several  churches. 

An  institution  of  this  sort  can  relate  to  itself  a  group 
of  small,  weak  churches  and  aid  them  in  fulfilling  the  min- 
istry which  their  particular  community  is  demanding. 

The  Trinity-Wabash  Parish  in  Chicago  illustrates  the 
possibilities  of  such  a  church.  Previous  to  the  organization 
and  centralization  of  this  parish  there  were  six  Methodist 
Episcopal  churches  in  this  territory,  each  having  a  pastor, 
and  each  becoming  weaker  each  year.  The  present  organiza- 
tion places  three  churches  under  one  administration  with  a 
relationship  of  one  sort  or  another  to  each  of  the  other 
churches.  Two  pastors  divide  their  labors,  one  doing  the 
calling  and  taking  care  of  the  financial  part  of  the  work,  and 
the  other  superintending  the  work  program  of  the  parish 
and  all  of  the  activities.  Associated  with  the  pastors  are  a 
director  of  religious  education,  furnished  by  the  Board  of 
Sunday  Schools  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
several  other  workers.  Among  the  things  realized  by  this 
organization  are  specialized  supervision,  economy  in  work- 
ers, unity  in  service,  cooperation,  and  the  appeal  of  a  com- 
prehensive program. 

In  Detroit  Methodism  was  confronted  with  a  number 
of  small  churches  badly  located.  Here  two  churches  were 
doing  ineffectual  work  when  a  fire  destroyed  one  of  them. 
After  a  thoroughgoing  survey,  the  two  small  churches  were 
united  and  moved  to  a  location  near  the  social,  recreational, 
and  geographical  center  of  a  neighborhood  of  two  hundred 
thousand  people,  in  which  there  was  not  a  single  Protestant 
church  to  command  the  situation.  Here  was  planned  a  great 
building  on  a  spot  chosen  because  of  its  logical  fitness  for  an 
extension  that  would  evangelize  the  great  community.  A 
three-story  building  with  all  the  conveniences  of  a  modern 
plant,  gymnasium,  social  parlors,  community  assembly 
room,  roof  garden,  etc.,  is  being  erected.  When  complete 
it  will  cost  $185,000,  $20,000  of  which  was  given  to  Detroit 
Methodism  out  of  the  Opportunity  Fund  of  the  Board  of 


110    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

The  seven  downtown  Methodist  Episcopal  churches  of 
Seattle,  Washington,  namely.  First,  Madison  Street,  Grace, 
Haven,  Norwegian-Danish,  Swedish,  and  Japanese,  are  unit- 
ing in  a  Downtown  Methodist  Council.  The  membership  of 
this  council  is  made  up  of  the  pastor  and  two  laymen  dele- 
gated by  the  official  board  of  each  church.  The  council  sur- 
veys the  field,  endeavors  to  get  a  clear  understanding  of  the 
problem,  takes  account  of  the  forces  available  for  the  task, 
and  submits  to  the  several  official  boards  a  policy  of  work. 

In  Washington,  D.  C,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  churches 
are  organizing  their  activities  so-  as  to  have  four  distinct 
centers  for  special  types  of  work.  At  the  Metropolitan 
Memorial  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  will  be  centered  the 
city  soldier  work  and  outdoor  evangelism,  especially  street 
preaching.  Wesley  Chapel  will  be  the  headquarters  for 
Christian  education.  Here  will  be  carried  on  institutes  and 
training  classes  for  Sunday  School  and  Epworth  League 
work  for  the  city  and  environs.  North  Capitol  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  adjacent  to  the  Lucy  Webb  Hayes  Train- 
ing School  for  Deaconesses  and  Nurses,  is  to  be  the  center 
for  social  service  work  with  a  specialist  having  oversight. 
This  will  include  work  among  Italians.  The  social  program 
for  Washington  Methodism  will  include  an  occasional  enter- 
tainment for  congressmen,  senators,  members  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  etc.,  who  are  affiliated  with  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  Foundry  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
the  scene  of  the  first  venture  of  this  nature. 

COMMUNITY  CENTER  FOR  SOCIAL  WELFARE 

The  downtown  central  church  itself  should  be  the  com- 
munity center  for  social  welfare.  This  is  true  also  of 
churches  in  other  sections  of  the  city,  according  to  the  size 
and  needs  of  the  particular  community. 

The  Morgan  Memorial  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
of  Boston,  is  rendering  a  unique  service  as  a  community 


''WHERE  CROSS  THE  CROWDED  WAYS"    111 

church.  It  conducts  a  children's  work  whereby  it  labors 
among  fifteen  hundred  children  of  twenty-five  different  na- 
tionalities. Kindergarten,  day  nursery,  music,  and  indus- 
trial school  and  religious  teaching  are  all  having  their  influ- 
ence upon  both  the  children  and  their  parents.  About  ten 
years  ago  an  industrial  work  was  started  whereby  old 
clothes,  furniture,  old  shoes,  etc.,  are  collected  in  bags, 
brought  to  the  industrial  plant,  renovated,  and  sold  to  poor 
people  of  the  community.  Those  who  do  the  work  of  recon- 
struction on  these  brokendpwn  articles  are  the  poor  people 
of  the  community  who  could  not  find  remunerative  work  in 
any  other  way.  They  are  thus  provided  with  occupation 
which  gives  them  the  means  to  purchase  things  which  they 
need.  Every  morning  at  eight  o'clock  the  pastor  preaches 
to  them  before  they  begin  their  daily  work.  The  rescue  work 
of  the  Seavey  Seminary  Settlement  is  described  on  page 
113.  The  other  feature  of  Morgan  Memorial  is  the  Church 
of  All  Nations,  which  gives  a  cordial  welcome  and  ministers 
to  foreigners  of  the  community. 

The  Good  Will  Industries  of  San  Francisco  do  a  great 
work  along  the  lines  of  Morgan  Memorial  Industries,  while 
the  new  Plaza  Community  Center,  of  Los  Angeles,  Cali- 
fornia, will  duplicate  the  work  of  Morgan  Memorial  for  the 
Latin- Americans  of  southern  California.  The  Methodists  of 
other  cities  are  rapidly  adopting  the  Morgan  Memorial  plan. 

The  opportunities  of  ministry  for  a  thoroughly 
equipped  community  church  are  almost  unlimited.  The 
auditorium  may  be  used  for  lectures  and  moving  picture  ex- 
hibits. Clinics  and  dispensaries  may  be  conducted  for  the 
poor.  Gymnasiums,  swimming  pools,  and  shower  baths  may 
be  provided  in  the  basement  for  the  young  people.  There  is 
no  limit  to  the  kind  of  clubs  that  may  be  organized  for  both 
boys  and  girls,  for  mothers  and  for  fathers.  Kindergarten, 
day  nurseries,  lodging  houses  for  working  girls,  community 
choruses,  orchestras,  visiting  nurses,  vocational  schools, 
summer  camps,  classes  for  teaching  English  to  foreigners — 
the  list  is  almost  endless.    Not  every  church  organized  for 


112    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

social  welfare  would  have  all  of  the  activities,  but  each 
church  may  take  that  portion  of  the  list  which  can  be  made  of 
service  to  its  own  community. 

The  English-speaking  and  polyglot  industrial  groups  in 
onr  cities  include  over  10,000,000  who  are  employed  in  manu- 
facturing and  mechanical  industries.  Among  these  people  is 
an  increasing  unrest.  The  sporadic  successes  of  the  I.  W.  W. 
indicate  the  situation  among  unskilled  workers,  and  as  soon 
as  the  war  is  over  problems  now  held  in  aibeyance  by  gov- 
ernment supervision  will  become  live  issues.  In  the  modern 
city  the  industrial  community  church  must  adapt  itself  not 
only  for  the  urgent  needs  of  to-day  but  also  for  the  changes 
which  are  sure  to  come  with  the  inauguration  of  peace. 

To  meet  such  conditions  neighborhood  churches  should 
be  planned  in  polyglot  communities  where  specific  needs 
have  been  determined.  The  importance  of  this  type  of 
church  ministry  is  seen  in  cities  like  Gary,  Indiana ;  Detroit, 
Michigan;  and  Toledo,  Ohio.  When  the  church  is  in  a  poly- 
glot community  it  either  becomes  a  Church  of  All  Nations  or 
expires.  The  ministry  of  this  type  of  church  has  already 
been  described  on  page  105.  In  the  Church  of  All  Nations  at 
Morgan  Memorial,  Boston,  provision  is  also  made  for  train- 
ing the  leaders  of  non-English-speaking  peoples  of  New 
England,  Italians,  Turks,  Armenians,  Greeks,  and  Jews,  the 
entire  school  constituting  a  department  of  Boston  Univers- 
ity. For  this  type  of  work  a  community  plant  and  equip- 
ment are  absolutely  essential,  as  is  also  an  adequate  staff  of 
workers,  which  should  include  among  the  foremost  a  reli- 
gious-educational director. 

Already  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  conducts  spe- 
cial missions  for  foreign-si)eaking  groups.  These  are  scat- 
tered all  over  the  country  and  include  Italian,  Scandinavian 
(Norwegian,  Swedish,  Danish),  Chinese,  Japanese,  Slavs 
(Bohemian,  Polish,  Russian,  Servian,  Roumanian),  Hun- 
garian, Lithuanian,  Greek,  Armenian,  Finnish,  Syrian, 
Portuguese,  French  and  French-Canadian,  Welsh,  and  Jew- 
ish.    The  Americanizing  process  which  changes  the  for- 


** WHERE  CROSS  THE  CROWDED  WAYS"    113 

eignei-  into  an  English-speaking  individual  makes  work 
among  these  people  more  or  less  permanently  missionary  in 
method ;  for  as  soon  as  they  become  Americanized  they  are 
assimilated  into  the  American  church.  In  fact,  many 
churches  do  successful  work  among  foreign-speaking  peo- 
ples in  the  English  language  entirely. 

The  community  church  for  Negroes  is  also  a  necessity. 
The  northward  emigration  of  great  numbers  of  Negroes  in 
1917  so  altered  the  status  of  the  Negro  population  and  modi- 
fied the  character  of  some  of  the  cities  in  general  that  there 
developed  urgent  need  for  an  increased  number  of  pastors, 
more  and  larger  churches,  and  community  centers  capable 
of  caring  for  the  last  need  of  these  Southern  strangers  in  the 
North.  Especially  is  there  need  of  social  workers  to  look  out 
for  the  housing  conditions  of  these  people. 

The  community  church  in  the  suburban  district  is  mani- 
festing its  usefulness.  Before  the  suburb  becomes  absolutely 
static  in  its  methods  it  is  wisdom  to  provide  for  a  com- 
munity plant  and  equipment,  adequate  churches  and  pastors 
to  make  the  religious  life  of  the  suburb  an  actual  part  of  the 
Kingdom's  progress. 

SCIENTIFIC  EESCUE  WORK 

So  long  as  sin  exists  in  the  world  there  will  be  wrecks  of 
men  seeking  whatever  port  they  are  able  to  make.  This  fact 
accounts  for  the  rescue  missions  of  the  church.  Such  mis- 
sions have  been  ministering  to  men  and  women  along  the  by- 
ways of  the  cities  for  many  years.  The  governor  of  the 
State  of  New  York  recently  said:  ''Hadley  Hall  on  the 
Bowery  costs  less,  but  accomplishes  more,  than  all  the  police 
stations  on  the  East  Side.  A  rescued  man  at  work  is  worth 
much  more  than  a  tramp  in  jail.  It  is  of  far  greater  value 
to  the  State  to  reform  a  man  than  merely  to  punish  a  crim- 
inal." 

The  Seavey  Seminary  Settlement  of  the  Morgan  Memo- 
rial Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Boston,  emphasizes  what 
can  be  done  for  a  man  who  has  entirely  lost  his  bearings  if 


114    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

the  best  of  our  knowledge  is  applied  to  the  task.  The  man 
who  comes  to  the  door  of  this  institution  may  not  enter  if  he 
has  as  much  as  five  cents  to  his  name.  Only  the  penniless  is 
welcome.  Once  in,  he  receives  the  ministry  of  five  skilled  ex- 
perts. He  has  a  thorough  physical  examination.  He  comes 
under  the  direction  of  a  social  secretary.  A  psychologist 
gives  him  a  modified  form  of  the  binet  test.  An  industrial 
director  gives  him  a  chance  to  get  started  in  the  way  of  self- 
support,  and  a  minister  talks  to  him  at  prayers  concerning 
the  helpfulness  of  fellowship  with  Jesus  Christ.  The  man 
earns  all  that  he  receives,  and  as  he  improves  he  is  promoted 
from  the  double-decker  beds  of  the  Junior  Department  to  the 
single  beds  of  the  Middlers.  When  he  becomes  a  Senior  he 
is  given  a  key  to  the  front  door  and  is  made  a  Big  Brother 
to  one  of  the  Juniors.  Once  a  week  the  entire  staff  of  work- 
ers lunch  together  and  check  up  each  man. 

In  the  downtown  business  section  of  Sioux  City,  Iowa, 
is  the  Helping  Hand  Mission.  Here  a  man  with  vision  estab- 
lished a  humble  work  among  life's  castaways  and  now  has  a 
great  cheap  hotel  which  helps  to  support  the  evangelistic 
mission  which  he  conducts.  The  Mission  Hotel  attracts  men 
because  they  can  secure  a  room  for  thirty-five  cents  and  a 
bed  in  the  dormitory  for  fifteen  cents.  This  draws  the  home- 
less men  around  the  mission,  provides  a  place  to  care  for 
them  at  a  minimum  expense,  and  gives  unusual  opportunities 
for  teaching  them  the  message  of  the  Master.  It  is  hoped 
that  this  mission  will  gradually  develop  into  Methodism's 
downtown  evangelistic  center,  with  a  training  school  for 
Christian  workers,  and  a  university  settlement  for  Morn- 
ingside  College. 

The  City  for  God 

The  finest  of  programs  will  not  win  the  city  to  God.  In 
addition  to  careful  study  of  the  problems  of  the  city,  there 
must  also  be  the  consecration  to  service  and  support  on  the 
part  of  the  people  to  become  interested.  The  Centenary  of 
Methodist  Missions  affords  an  excellent  opportunity  for  the 


"WHERE  CROSS  THE  CROWDED  WAYS"    115 

church  to  cease  marking  time  or  retreating  in  the  city  strong- 
hold, and  to  advance.  No  half-way  measures  will  accom- 
plish the  needed  results;  the  church  without  reserve  must 
give  of  itself,  its  time  and  its  money.  With  the  church  in  the 
city  properly  equipped  and  manned  the  next  generation 
should  be  full  of  Christian  leaders  who  could  make  the  city 
Christian  for  all  time.  With  the  city  Christian  democracy 
is  saved  for  all  time.  And  with  democracy  safe,  the  nation 
and  the  world  will  reap  a  harvest  of  character  and  right- 
eousness, justice  and  peace  worth  the  cost  of  making  a  world 
safe  for  its  reception. 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  Why  is  the  city  democracy's  stronghold? 

2.  To  what  extent  is  America  becoming  a  nation  of 
cities?    Prove  your  statement. 

3.  Characterize  the  two  general  types  of  American 
cities. 

4.  What  problems  are  common  to  all  cities  ? 

5.  Discuss  the  new  polyglot  city.    How  general  is  it? 

6.  In  what  respect  has  the  church  studied  its  city 
obligation  ? 

7.  Cite  some  instances  of  attempts  on  the  part  of  the 
church  to  meet  the  new  demand. 

8.  What  part  does  the  church  in  the  residential  section 
and  the  suburb  play  in  the  evangelization  of  the  city? 

9.  State  Methodism's  definite  city  program. 

10.  What  is   a  central  downtown  church?     A  com- 
munity church? 

11.  In  what  way  must  industrial  centers  be  ministered 
to? 

12.  How  may  the  ' '  foreigner ' '  be  won  ? 

13.  What  is  scientific  rescue  work? 

14.  What    obligation    has    the    Methodist    Episcopal 
Church  to  help  Christianize  the  democracy  of  our  cities  ? 


I  had  a  talk  with  Old  Glory  just  the  other  day  with  reference  to 
the  Negro.  I  said,  "Old  Glory,  if  you  have  anything  against  my  race, 
tell  me."  I  said,  "I  understand  you  have  three  disgraceful  scars  on  you, 
put  there  by  somebody."  I  looked  and  saw  one  that  had  been  put  there 
by  a  man  on  the  evening  that  the  immortal  Lincoln  was  killed.  I  said, 
"Let  me  see  the  spot  and  I  can  tell  you  whether  it  is  a  black  hand  or  a 
white  hand."  I  saw  it  and  said,  "It  is  a  white  hand,  not  a  black  hand — 
I  can  tell  by  the  finger  marks."  On  the  other  side  Old  Glory  had  an- 
other spot,  put  there  by  somebody  who  killed  that  immortal  man,  Gar- 
field; and  I  looked  to  see  if  it  was  a  white  hand  or  black;  it  was  white, 
not  black.  Then  I  said,  "I  wonder  if  there  is  another  one?"  I  saw 
another  one,  put  there  by  somebody  who  killed  the  sainted  McKinley, 
and  I  said,  "I  wonder  if  that  is  a  black  man's  finger ;  I  can  tell  by  the 
clumsy  thumb."  But  I  saw  the  finger  was  that  of  a  white  man.  I  said, 
"Old  Glory,  I  am  glad  to  tell  you  that  of  all  the  stains  made  upon 
you  since  you  have  been  floating  over  these  lands  of  the  sunset  skies, 
not  one  has  been  put  there  by  a  son  of  Ham  or  a  black  man !" — Charles 
A.  Tindley,  in  How  Shall  We  Meet  the  Negro  Invasion  of  Northern 
Cities? 

If  education  is  to  be  the  open  sesame  to  full  participation  in  a 
democratic  nation,  then  education  should  be  provided  for  every  man, 
woman,  or  child,  regardless  of  race  or  condition.  The  road  up  the  hills 
of  learning  is  steep  and  often  difficult  to  follow.  So  much  more  the 
need  of  guides  who  have  the  sympathies  of  the  real  teacher.  Only  such 
can  be  helpful  on  such  a  journey.  Only  such  inspire  the  slow  of  mind 
to  push  ahead.  This  has  been  found  especially  true  in  the  education 
of  the  Negro.  Handicapped  by  a  consciousness  that  the  upward  road 
has  in  it  bypaths  which  his  white  neighbors  are  not  obliged  to  take,  the 
colored  boy  has  frequently  thought  it  not  worth  while  to  journey  far 
on  learning's  highway.  It  is  at  this  point  in  his  development  that  a 
teacher  who  is  more  than  a  Wage-earner  is  able  to  be  of  genuine  service. 
To  point  out  the  fields  of  usefulness  open  to  the  Negro  race,  despite 
the  handicaps  of  birth,  is  to  increase  the  number  of  leaders  who  shall 
eventually  summons  hundreds  of  thousands  of  these  people  to  the  joy 
and  benefits  of  a  thoroughly  trained  mind. — John  Bascom.  * 


CHAPTEE  V 
THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEGRO 

Let  Us  Be  Pkank 

Christian  democracy  cannot  have  two  interpretations. 
Its  full  message  must  be  tlie  same  to  all  peoples,  regardless 
of  color  or  condition.  Otherwise  it  is  not  what  it  claims  to 
be.  Its  trend  is  toward  the  very  autocracy  which  it  would 
crush.  This  fact  creates  difficulties  and  problems,  but  unless 
they  are  met  and  solved  there  will  ever  be  a  discordant  note 
in  democracy's  song,  and  twelve  million  of  the  nation's 
population  will  be  unable  to  sing  it  with  enthusiasm  and  joy. 
What  a  confession  to  make  to  the  nations  of  the  earth! 
What  a  failure  to  note  in  the  records  of  advance  and  pros- 
perity !  Shall  the  fruits  of  Christian  democracy  not  be  given 
freely  to  our  Negro  population?  A  left-handed  application 
of  its  principles  to  these  people  is  intolerable.  It  is  unjust  to 
them  and  soul-shriveling  to  those  who  thus  administer  it.  It 
leaves  a  blot  on  the  beauty  of  a  nation  which  the  world  is 
examining  to-day  with  microscopic  closeness.  It  raises  the 
question  as  to  why  the  Negro  must  die  in  the  trenches  to 
make  the  world  safe  for  a  democracy  in  which  he  has  as  yet 
but  an  imperfect  participation. 

No  institution  in  the  country  is  so  obligated  to  labor 
for  the  impartial  administration  of  democracy  as  is  the 
Christian  Church.  It  has  no  alternative.  To  do  otherwise 
is  to  deny  the  right  of  the  church  to  exist.  To  fail  to  meet 
every  issue  which  such  righteous  administration  raises  is 
to  admit  that  the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ  are  based 
upon  compromise.  Theoretically,  the  altars  of  the  church 
are  open  to  all  peoples  and  the  blessings  of  religion  are  to  be 
shared  by  all.  This  involves  the  application  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  Christian  brotherhood  to  all  people  at  all  times.  As 
a  practical  demonstration  of  its  faith  and  teaching  the 

Ud 


120    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

church  is  obliged  to  do  this  very  thing.  That  it  brings  with 
it  some  hard  propositions  is  admitted.  But  the  church  which 
offers  to  men  salvation  from  sin,  and  fellowship  with  Jesus 
Christ,  must  lose  itself  in  the  fulfilling  of  its  mission  at  this 
point  if  it  is  to  save  itself  for  the  solution  of  the  problems  of 
later  years.  It  must  lose  itself  in  this  task  if  the  nation  is  to 
be  saved  from  a  practical  denial  of  the  spiritual  vision  of 
democracy  which  it  is  holding  up  to  the  world. 

The  church  has  not  been  unmindful  of  its  obligation  to 
the  Negro  in  the  United  States.  It  has  given  him  oppor- 
tunities to  secure  an  education  when  the  State  was  dilatory  in 
providing  it.  Churches  have  been  built  for  him  and  min- 
isters supported  to  teach  him  the  way  of  life.  In  these  two 
respects  little  fault  can  be  found  with  the  church.  But  the 
influence  of  the  church  has  not  been  strong  enough  to  pre- 
vent industrial  discrimination  against  him.  It  has  not  al- 
tered political  conditions  which  nullify  the  political  priv- 
ileges given  to  him.  Mob  law  has  been  permitted  to  execute 
him  at  the  end  of  a  rope  or  at  a  blazing  stake  unquestioned 
by  the  church.  Cross-sections  of  our  history  reveal  many 
instances  in  our  national  life  where  democracy  for  the  Negro 
has  been  of  the  '  *  scrap-of-paper ' '  kind.  For  real  democracy 
the  American  Negro  will  live  and  die.  But  he  looks  at  the 
pseudo-democracy  with  that  same  failure  to  understand 
which  prompted  the  little  girl  to  say  to  her  mother: 
"Mamma,  why  is  it  that  when  I'm  bad  you  say  I'm  naughty, 
but  when  you  're  bad,  you  say  you  're  nervous  f ' '  Somewhere 
in  our  church  statesmanship  we  have  fallen  short  of  the 
mark.  Can  we  correct  our  error  and  yet  prove  our  theory 
by  our  practice?  What  already  has  been  done  challenges  to 
an  unmediate  response. 

The  Negro  a  Patriot* 

Every  live  American  rejoices  in  the  valorous  deeds  of 
his  ancestors.    The  scenes  of  battles  long  ago  are  kept  fresh 

'  Pages  120  to  128  are  taken  from  The  Negro  and  the  Flag,  by  Ralph 
Welles  Keeler. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEGRO     121 

in  the  minds  of  succeeding  generations  by  the  boast  of  lineal 
descent  from  heroes  of  other  days.  Men  rejoice  in  paying 
tribute  to  the  loyal  band  of  colonists  who,  for  the  sake  of 
liberty,  mingled  their  blood  with  the  land  we  love  in  defiance 
of  a  strong  nation.  It  is  a  heritage  proudly  shared  by  thou- 
sands. Women  guard  with  jealous  care  those  credentials 
which  open  to  them  the  doors  of  fellowship  with  other 
''daughters  of  the  Revolution."  It  is  in  the  blood.  And 
around  the  fireside  of  a  winter's  night,  children's  children 
are  inducted  into  the  sacred  knowledge  of  the  part  played  by 
those  whose  blood  courses  through  their  own  bodies. 

Nor  is  the  Negro  set  aside  in  this  revelry  of  forefathers ' 
fighting  prowess.  For  his  is  a  share  in  the  soldiery  memoirs 
of  our  nation  from  the  beginning.  The  first  Negro  blood  to 
flow  was  that  of  Crispus  Attucks,  a  runaway  slave,  who  led 
an  attack  of  citizens  on  the  British  soldiers,  March  5,  1770, 
in  what  is  known  to-day  as  the  Boston  Massacre.  From 
Boston  Commons  to  Carrizal  the  Negro  has  manifested  the 
same  bravery  and  loyalty  by  dying  for  the  stars  and  stripes 
whenever  opportunity  has  offered  itself.  His  cheerful  and 
conspicuous  courage  at  the  battle  of  New  Orleans,  in  1812, 
brought  forth  public  commendation  from  General  Andrew 
Jackson.  And  in  that  same  war  it  was  to  Negro  soldiers  that 
the  post  of  guarding  the  city  of  Washington  from  traitors 
at  home  and  enemies  within  was  given. 

A  feature  of  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  1916  was  the  singing  of  the  Claflin  Uni- 
versity quartette.  Their  favorite  song  was  ' '  The  Old  Flag 
Never  Touched  the  Ground."  Its  rendering  revived  the 
memory  of  the  gallant  54th  Massachusetts,  a  Negro  regiment 
under  Colonel  Robert  Gould  Shaw.  In  a  brave  struggle  in 
which  nearly  all  the  ofiicers,  including  Colonel  Shaw,  were 
killed,  a  loyal  sergeant  seized  the  regiment's  colors  from  a 
falling  comrade  and  kept  the  flag  aloft.  When,  mangled  and 
bleeding,  he  was  carried  from  the  field,  he  lifted  his  voice 
with  the  exultant  cry,  "Boys,  the  old  flag  never  touched  the 
ground!" 


122    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

Once  more  black  hands  are  holding  up  the  colors. 
Through  the  smoke  and  flames  of  battle  are  seen  the  tense 
black  faces  of  the  Negro  troops.  The  training  camps  are 
alive  with  the  drawls  of  the  plantation  and  the  harsher  tones 
of  the  northern  cities.  Mothers  and  wives  and  sweethearts 
are  trying  to  adjust  themselves  to  the  absence  of  their  men. 
Little  children  look  with  wonder  and  ask  questions.  But  the 
Negro  himself  has  asked  none.  The  nation  said  ''Come." 
And  once  more  he  is  answering  the  country 's  call  to  demon- 
strate that  the  spirit  of  heroism  and  sacrifice  has  developed 
since  the  blood  of  the  white  man  and  the  blood  of  the  black 
man  first  wet  the  soil  of  our  land  in  the  cause  of  liberty  and 
justice. 

From  field  and  factory  and  school  alike  they  have  come. 
The  slow  and  the  swift,  the  unlettered  and  the  educated, 
the  untrained  and  the  gifted — each  has  come  offering  his  all 
with  which  to  keep  the  torch  of  American  liberty  ablaze. 
Some  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  of  the  best  phys- 
ical types  of  Negro  American  manhood  are  in  the  army. 
One  thousand  of  the  choicest  Negro  men  are  among  the 
commissioned  officers  who  are  leading  them  ''over  the  top" 
out  into  "No  Man's  Land."  Already  they  have  recorded 
their  valor  in  action  at  the  front. 

None  have  hesitated.  The  university  professor  has  set 
his  frogs  and  testing  tubes  to  gather  dust  or  to  be  used  by 
less  able  men  than  he.  The  college  boy  has  swapped  his  bat 
and  ball  for  a  khaki  suit  and  a  Springfield  rifle.  The  phy- 
sician who  has  ministered  to  the  needs  of  the  lowly  homes  in 
the  countless  rural  communities  of  the  South  will  npw  re- 
build the  torn  and  shattered  bodies  of  the  heads  of  these 
households. 

Not  only  the  loving  devotion  of  the  home  folks  and 
friends  stamps  these  men  as  the  sort  that  make  an  army 
strong.  The  government  also  has  said  that  they  count,  for 
the  secretary  of  war  is  "fully  cognizant  of  and  appreciates 
the  loyalty  and  patriotism  of  the  Negro. "  The  appointment 
of  Emmett  Jay  Scott  as  special  assistant  secretary  of  war  is 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEGRO     123 

a  further  recognition  of  the  use  and  value  of  the  Negro's 
unqualified  support  in  the  Nation's  crisis. 

Camp  life  is  reemphasizing  the  fact  that  the  Negro  is 
preeminently  a  man  of  the  hour.  He  lives  much  in  the 
present.  And  his  feelings  are  best  expressed  through  song. 
Both  the  hours  when  the  sky  is  cloudless  and  the  tragic  hours 
of  life  are  reflected  in  the  melody  which  fairly  sways  itself 
out  into  the  air.  In  the  time  of  the  nation's  need  he  brings 
with  his  physical  endurance  and  strength  of  will  that  most 
blessed  ministry  of  song.  For  already  the  Negro  in  khaki 
is  known  as  the  singing  soldier.  The  singing  soldier  makes 
for  cheerfulness,  loyal  fellowship,  and  esprit  de  corps.  And 
singing  soldiers  are  needed  now.  All  the  cheerfulness  which 
they  can  render  counts,  for  all  too  soon  the  minor  chords 
will  become  vibrant,  as  '^our  man"  is  checked  off  in  the 
casualty  list  cabled  from  overseas. 

Who  are  they  all?  Just  folks,  like  yours  and  mine. 
Watch  them  pass  by.  They  are  off  for  a  port  of  embarking. 
There  is  a  Wiley  College  senior  giving  an  order.  In  the 
first  line  marches  a  man  who  never  was  more  than  five  miles 
away  from  the  cotton  plantation  until  a  few  weeks  ago. 
Next  to  him  is  the  porter  who  always  helped  us  from  the 
train  at  the  Chicago  station.  Then  come  the  owner  of  a 
store  in  New  York,  an  editor  from  Texas,  a  carpenter  from 
Georgia,  a  bricklayer  from  Tennessee.  Still  they  come. 
Mothers'  sons  and  husbands  of  wives.  Men.  Men  of  the 
kind  that  future  poets  will  sing  of  as  one  has  sung  of  the 
heroes  of  other  days : 

"Plain,  common  men  of  every  day. 
Who  left  their  homes  to  march  away. 
To  perish  on  the  battle  plain. 
As  common  men  will  do  again ; 
To  lift  a  ghastly,  glazing  eye 
Up  to  a  lurid,  stranger  sky 
Until  it  sees  a  painted  rag — 
The  same  old  common  spangled  flag — 
And  then  to  die,  and  testify 
To  all  the  ages,  far  and  nigh, 
How  commonplace  it  is  to  die." 


124    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

"Where  Training  Counts 

A  soldier  is  more  than  a  human  body  trained  in  military 
tactics  and  maneuvers.  Otherwise  our  forces  would  fail  at 
the  crucial  moment.  **Our  finest  boys"  is  the  expression 
heard  repeatedly  in  describing  them.  Some  process  of 
preparation  is  recognized  in  addition  to  that  of  the  camps 
and  the  practice  trenches.  The  different  attitudes  men  have 
taken  to  the  drafting  of  our  national  army  point  this  out. 
The  careful  selection  of  the  officers  indicates  that  there  is  a 
development  of  patriotism  which  has  its  place  far  away  from 
the  sharp  giving  of  orders  and  the  shuffling  of  marching  feet. 

The  swinging  lines  of  khaki-clad  Negro  soldiers  bring 
thoughts  of  days  when  the  grandfathers  and  fathers  of  these 
men  had  no  country  of  which  they  could  sing  "my  country.'* 
The  years  of  adjustment  to  independence  and  self-support, 
the  rearing  of  families  in  homes  of  their  own,  the  becoming 
property  owners,  have  a  story  that  they  tell.  And  through  it 
all  is  woven  the  romance  of  Christian  education. 

Leading  a  race  from  bondage  into  useful  citizenship  is 
something  that  cannot  be  done  overnight.  It  has  taken  long, 
weary  months  to  teach  Negro  parents  the  proper  care  of  the 
bodies  of  their  children.  It  is  no  slight  task  to  train  a  gen- 
eration so  that  the  organs  of  the  body  function  properly,  and 
thereby  resist  disease.  Muscles  must  be  hard  and  elastic. 
For  the  physical  courage  of  a  man  is  often  due  to  a  feeling 
of  dependence  upon  the  human  machine  to  do  what  he  wills. 
The  home  contributes  here  to  the  making  of  the  soldier. 

The  Christian  school  has  done  more  for  Negro  youth 
than  has  the  home.  Here  the  all-round  man  has  been  kept  in 
mind.  The  body  has  been  developed  by  athletics  and  hard 
work.  Ideals  for  a  home  after  schooldays  are  over  have 
been  inculcated.  The  mind  has  been  stored  with  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  ages  and  the  scientific  processes  of  to-day.  The 
hand  has  been  taught  that  cunning  which  demands  a  living 
wage  as  a  well-equipped  artisan.  And  the  soul  has  been  led 
into  fellowship  with  God. 


A  NEGRO  NEIGHBORHOOD  IN  COLUMBUS,  OHIO 


SUNDAY  SCHOOL  AT  EAST  CALVARY  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH,  PHILADELPHIA,  PENNSYLVANIA 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEGRO     125 

It  is  no  small  thing  that  in  the  schools  supported  by  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  the  Negro  lad  learns  the  relation  of 
the  home  to  the  community  and  the  state.  He  comes  to  ap- 
preciate the  reciprocal  duties  of  himself  and  his  government. 
As  a  man  he  recognizes  that  without  his  government,  his 
home  is  in  danger.  With  his  home  in  danger  his  happiness  is 
at  stake.  He  also  comprehends  that  the  protection  of  other 
homes  in  his  country  is  the  part  of  an  intelligent  patriot.  So 
he  salutes  the  stars  and  stripes  as  a  sjTnbol  of  national 
brotherhood,  a  symbol  of  exalted  sacrifice  in  order  that 
homes  may  endure  and  children  live  in  safety,  a  symbol  of 
righteous  living  and  justice  for  all!  He  dons  his  khaki  or 
suit  of  blue,  stands  at  attention,  and.  marches  away  with  a 
full  knowledge  of  what  he  is  doing. 

Those  who  have  thought  slightingly  of  the  training  of 
the  hand  which  is  so  well  done  in  schools  for  Negroes  are 
now  rejoicing.  The  developing  of  intelligent  patriotism  is 
largely  an  intellectual  process.  But  an  added  value  is  given 
to  it  when  the  big  healthy  soldier  also  knows  how  to  use  his 
hands.  He  may  be  courageous  enough  to  face  death  in  the 
trenches  unflinchingly,  but  when  a  railroad  must  be  built 
close  up  to  the  firing  line,  or  a  munition  truck  steered  to  the 
front,  or  a  gun  loaded  rapidly  and  fired  accurately,  deftness 
and  skill  of  hand  are  absolutely  essential. 

The  process  of  selecting  officers  for  our  new  army  has 
been  a  signal  justification  of  the  value  of  the  training  of  the 
schools.  A  pan-collegiate  gathering  of  large  numbers  might 
be  held  of  a  night  in  the  officers '  quarters  of  any  camp.  The 
choice  product  of  the  schools  for  Negroes  supported  by  the 
church  and  other  philanthropy  makes  up  the  roll  of  officers 
for  our  Negro  soldier  units.  Beyond  the  wisdom  of  men 
they  have  been  trained  for  an  undreamed-of  day.  Str(ftig 
men  they  are,  certain  of  themselves  and  mindful  of  the  needs 
of  their  fellows  under  them  in  the  ranks.  They  are  men 
who  are  able  to  develop  a  morale  that  will  send  line  after  line 
*  *  over  the  top ' '  with  a  smile  and  a  cheer. 

Uncertain  apd  full  of  hardship  was  the  path  of  those 


126    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

who  in  years  past  pioneered  the  making  of  a  Negro  army  for 
to-day.  They  succeeded  because  they  sought  by  the  proc- 
esses of  education  to  develop  men  and  women  of  ideals,  con- 
victions and  faith  in  God.  And  the  soldier  who  goes,  and 
the  home  which  he  leaves  b.ehind,  both  bear  silent  testimony 
to  the  learning  of  the  spirit  of  Him  who  quietly  said: 
"Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  he  lay  down  his 
life  for  his  friends." 

How  THE  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  Helps 

Methodism  has  had  a  large  part  in  the  training  of  the 
prepared  Negro  manhood  and  womanhood  of  to-day.  Since 
1866  it  has  interested  itself  to  the  extent  of  over  $10,000,000 
in  Christian  education  among  the  Negroes.  And  to-day  the 
Freedmen's  Aid  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
has  under  its  direction  21  schools,  with  317  teachers  and 
5,279  students.  The  property  value  of  these  schools,  in- 
cluding real  estate  and  equipment,  is  $2,007,750.  It  is  a  con- 
crete realization  in  1918  of  the  fine  idealism  of  the  twelve 
wise  men  called  Methodists  of  the  days  when  four  million 
ex-slaves  were  left  stranded  amid  the  mazes  of  a  new  life 
without  knowing  which  of  the  many  open  roads  to  travel. 

In  figures  this  statement  means  no  more  than  a  page 
from  the  toil  of  the  weary  statistician.  But  in  life  values  it 
represents  a  great  lump  of  the  leaven  which  has  been  and 
now  is  transforming  a  host  of  keen-eyed  black  boys  and  girls 
into  men  of  usefulness  and  women  of  noble  character  and 
uplifting  influence.  One  names  over  the  teachers  who  have 
counted  social  ostracism  and  the  flings  of  their  fellows  as 
nothing  so  long  as  they  might  have  a  part  in  this  process. 
Heroes  whose  names  are  left  unsung  were  these  men  and 
wofnen  of  culture  who  by  losing  their  lives  gave  life  to  a  mul- 
titude for  a  day  like  ours.  They  made  possible  the  new  type 
of  Negro  citizen,  the  home  of  refinement,  the  Christian  ideals 
with  which  the  two  hundred  thousand  Negro  young  men  and 
young  women  who  have  gone  through  Methodist  schools  are 
fortifying  the  future  of  their  race.    And  the  church — the 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEGRO     127 

stately  cathedral  in  the  teeming  city,  and  the  little  ' '  one-cell ' ' 
structure  at  the  crossroads — stood  back  of  them  with  the 
money  needed  to  finance  so  great  a  task. 

How  are  the  results  attained  1  It  is  by  the  same  process 
that  all  childhood  and  youth  are  led  into  the  fields  of  learn- 
ing and  service.  That  two  and  two  are  four  and  the  earth  is 
round  like  an  orange  is  as  great  a  discovery  to  a  Negro  lad 
as  to  a  white  boy  of  like  age.  The  same  wearisome  hours  are 
spent  in  learning  "When  Greece  her  knees  in  suppliance 
bent,  "for  the  Friday  afternoon  ' '  piece ' '  speaking.  "  Arma 
virumque  cano"  brings  forth  as  many  ludicrous  translations 
with  him  as  anywhere.  And  the  difficulties  of  getting  Xeno- 
phon's  Ten  Thousand  safely  retreated  are  a  common  burden 
with  the  youth  of  all  races.  What  joy,  then,  when  a  boy  or 
girl  attains!  When  the  thinking  processes  begin  to  assert 
themselves  and  personal  judgments  develop!  What  satis- 
faction at  that  time  that  the  Gospel  of  John  has  been  studied 
along  side  of  cube  root  and  quadratics ;  that  the  history  of 
the  Napoleonic  wars  has  not  shut  out  the  joys  of  the  leader- 
ship of  Moses !  What  happiness  to  those  who  teach  that  to- 
gether with  conclusions  in  economics  and  psychology  come 
decisions  in  religion !  How  the  heart  of  the  church  is  made 
glad  that  these  young  men  and  women  graduated  laude,  cum 
laude,  or  summa  cum  laude,  are  for  the  most  part  avowed 
disciples  of  Jesus  Christ ! 

Education  and  Christian  example  give  these  results. 
These  Methodist  schools  train  the  mind  with  wholesome 
knowledge;* they  also  train  the  hand  for  the  common  toil  of 
every  day.  And  the  influence  of  noble  teachers,  men  and 
women,  makes  Christ  a  reality  day  by  day.  Would  not  the 
heart  of  Abraham  Lincoln  rejoice  at  the  new  order  of  life 
being  spread  among  this  race?  The  nation  is  no  stronger 
than  its  weakest  elements.  With  every  part  strong  it  can 
make  its  ideals  predominate  in  the  earth.  This  giving  of 
practical  Christian  education  to  the  Negro  is  keeping  the 
procession  moving  forward. 

The  necessities  of  war  have  called  many  of  the  gradu- 


128    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

ates  of  our  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  schools  and  colleges.  In 
a  strange  land  scores  of  them  are  making  the  supreme  sacri- 
fice for  the  ideals  which  they  have  been  taught.  The  service 
flag  has  its  star  of  blue  draped  in  black  in  homes  where 
length  of  days  in  joyous  fellowship  seemed  certain.  Has  the 
effort  been  worth  while!  The  service  now  being  rendered  is 
the  answer.  Yale  and  Harvard  and  Wesleyan  rejoice  in  the 
contribution  of  well-trained  men  that  they  are  making  to  the 
nation's  need.  In  just  the  same  loyal  way  are  Claflin,  Me- 
harry,  George  R.  Smith  College,  Wiley,  the  College  of  New 
Orleans,  Clark  University,  and  the  rest  glad  beyond  mea- 
sure that  their  boys  are  ready  and  that  they  can  cheer  them 
on  their  way. 

There  shortly  comes  the  future.  Another  generation 
must  be  ready.  Even  now  the  effort  to  train  others  for  the 
work  these  might  have  done  must  be  redoubled.  The  sky  is 
ablaze  with  the  cry, ' '  Prepare ! ' '  And  the  church  which  has 
through  half  a  century  led  the  way  in  Christian  education 
for  those  whom  Lincoln  freed,  now  faces  the  opportunity  to 
do  in  a  way  gigantic  the  task  which  with  bravery  and  faith 
it  pioneered  in  other  days. 

Our  Negro  Heritage 

There  is  poetry  in  the  distant  and  far  away.  Out  in  the 
jungle  and  in  the  villages  of  picturesque  thatch-roofed  mud 
huts  of  Africa  the  Negro  lures  our  souls  to  sympathy  and 
help.  Our  eyes  fill  with  tears  at  the  recital  of  the  conditions 
which  mark  him  as  not  yet  acquainted  with  our  God.  An 
honest  desire  possesses  us  to  do  something  that  will  better 
his  condition  and  bring  to  him  the  saving  love  of  Jesus 
Christ.  We  include  him  in  our  prayer,  '*Thy  kingdom 
come."  But  our  forefathers  did  not.  They  captured  him  in 
his  native  home  and  brought  him  here  to  l)e  a  \mrt  of  our 
great  national  growth.  As  slave  to  the  white  man  he  took  up 
this  new  walk  in  life.  The  merry  i)ictures  of  his  frolic  hour 
in  the  cotton  fields  of  yesterday  spoil  our  perspective  as  we 
think  of  his  new  condition  in  those  days.    It  was  not  our 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEGRO     129 

God  that  lie  came  to  know,  but  a  God  who  made  a  distinction 
between  peoples  whose  skin  was  of  a  different  color.  And 
the  narrow  conception  and  the  life  resulting  from  it  could 
never  participate  in  the  song  of  him  who  sang, ' '  Now  are  we 
the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall 
be. ' '  His  mind  had  no  training  that  would  help  him  to  seek 
out  God.  His  heart  was  trained  for  service  to  those  alone 
who  owned  him  body  and  soul. 

There  is  no  gainsaying  the  fact  that  the  Negro  is  a 
factor  in  the  future  of  our  country's  development.  As  is  the 
case  with  every  other  race  which  enters  into  our  heteroge- 
neous life,  he  is  both  an  asset  and  liability.  And  as  such  he  is 
an  influence  for  evil  or  good  in  the  life  of  every  other  indi- 
vidual. But  the  deciding  whether  he  will  be  more  liability  or 
more  asset  is  with  those  who  know  how  to  transform  the 
former  into  the  latter.  And  this  task  and  the  vision  essential 
for  the  doing  of  the  task  are  largely  in  the  day's  work  of 
those  who  have  claimed  for  themselves  the  blessings  which 
come  through  personal  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 

The  liability  side  of  our  problem  must  be  paid  for  over 
and  over  unless  we  change  it.  The  longer  it  remains  a  lia- 
bility the  more  numerous  the  individual  units  which  make  it 
up,  and  hence  the  increasing  magnitude  of  our  task.  The 
untaught,  carefree  field  hand  propagates  his  own  kind,  the 
while  he  remains  more  or  less  of  an  economic  burden  and 
one  outside  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  vicious  corner 
loafer  in  our  cities  will  never  provide  a  better  condition  than 
his  own  for  his  children.  The  lack  of  knowledge  prevents 
the  enlivening  vision  of  nobler  things.  Liability  he  is  and 
liability  he  will  remain  so  long  as  his  mind  is  not  fired  with 
the  stimulus  of  thinking  and  his  hand  trained  to  carry  out 
the  impulses  of  that  thought. 

Each  generation  bequeaths  to  the  next  its  achievements 
and  its  problems.  Each  generation  accepts  from  the  one  just 
preceding  it  some  problem  which  it  must  solve  before  an- 
other generation  takes  hold  of  affairs.  It  is  in  this  way  that 
progress  has  been  made.  But  it  cannot  be  done  without  great 


130    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

cost  to  each  generation  that  accepts  its  heritage  of  problems 
as  a  heritage  of  opportunities  as  well.  For  the  inspiration 
and  enthusiasm  which  keep  men  and  women  at  a  task  which 
is  to  render  greater  benefits  to  the  future  than  to  the  years 
which  they  call  contemporary  come  only  when  an  oppor- 
tunity for  benefiting  the  race  is  recognized. 

A  Ministry  of  Worship 

In  recognizing  the  opportunity  bequeathed  it  in  the 
presence  of  twelve  million  Negroes  the  church  has  made 
the  education  of  Negro  boys  and  girls  its  starting  point. 
This  has  made  possible  the  training  of  leaders.  These 
leaders  have  developed  a  church  life  for  their  own  people, 
aided  by  the  larger  resources  of  the  church.  The  re- 
sult of  this  phase  of  the  work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  its  membership  now  includes 
2,172  Negro  preachers,  who  minister  to  348,477  preparatory 
and  full  members  in  3,688  church  buildings.  The  total  value 
of  these  Negro  churches  is  $8,211,850  and  the  value  of  the 
1,345  parsonages  occupied  by  Negro  Methodist  Episcopal 
ministers  is  $1,361,486. 

Figures  always  fail  to  interpret  the  larger  value  of  the 
influence  which  their  ministry  represents.  The  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  has  influenced  thousands  of  people  by  its 
example  of  a  great  church  helping  a  weak  people.  It  has 
refused  to  forsake  them.  It  has  increased  respect  for 
weaker  races.  It  has  thus  prophesied  the  very  thing  for 
which  the  nation  now  is  fighting  with  iron  determination  to 
win. 

As  for  the  Negroes  themselves,  the  fostering  care  of  a 
great  church  is  greater  than  riches.  One  of  their  great 
preachers*  in  addressing  a  white  audience  said  recently: 
"The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  to  us  the  representa- 
tive of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  If  you  have  among  you  a 
large  percentage  that  belongs  to  other  denominations,  out  of 

'  Rev.  Charles  A.  Tindley. 


TABLE  NO.  I 

Statistics  of  the  Negro  Membership  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  for  1868  and  1918 

1868  1918  Increase 

Ministers 212  2,172  1,960 

Local  Preachers 634  3,538  2,904 

Church  Members  and  Probationers 63,567  348,477  284,910 

Sunday  Schools 490  3,642  3,152 

Sunday    School    Scholars,     Officers,     and 

Teachers 27,557  234,647  207,090 

Churches ■: 634  3,688  3,054 

Value  of  Churches $581,399       $8,211,850  $7,630,451 

Parsonages 13  1,345  1,332 

Value  of  Parsonages $4,850       $1,361,486  $1,356,636 

Ministerial  Support 927,267  927,267 

Paid  on  Church  Debts 195,547  195,547 

Paid  on  Buildings  and  Improvements 297,306  297,306 

Paid  on  Current  Expenses 229,288  229,288 

Indebtedness  on  Property 935,500  935,500 

TABLE  NO.  II 

A  Comparison  of  the  Amounts  Given  to  the  General  Church  Boards  by 

the  Negro  Membership  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 

Church  for  1868  and  1918 

1868  1918  Increase 
Foreign    Missions,    Home    Missions    and 

Church  Extension $1,842  $39,517  $37,675 

Freedmen's  Aid 75,000  75,000 

Sunday  Schools 130  4,565  4,435 

Board  of  Education: 

(a)  Public  Education 1,909  1,909 

(b)  Children's  Day 3,736  3,736 

American  Bible  Society 66  1,891  1,825 

Board   of    Temperance,    Prohibition,    and 

Public   Morals 1,464  1,464 

Deaconess  Board 216  216 

Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society 1,017  1,017 

Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society 10,994  10,994 

City    Missionary   and    Church    Extension 

Society 1,431  1,431 


Totals $2,038  $141,740  $139,702 

TABLE  NO.  Ill 

What  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  Giving  Through  Its  Boards 

FOR    the    Help    of    the    Negro,  and    What    Proportion  of 

That  Help  the  Negro  Furnishes  Himself.     The 

Following  are  the  Figures  for  1916-17 

Amt.  Raised 
Board  Amount  by  Colored 

Appropriated  People 

Foreign  Missions $11,519  44  $20,165  00 

Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension 61,480  40  19,478  40 

Freedmen's  Aid 132,203  00  17,259  36 

Woman's  Home  Missions 60,819  00  7,651  32 

Board  of  Education 5,960  00  3,298  00 

Board  of  Conference  Claimants 4,200  00  3,700  00 

Board  of  Sunday  Schools 3,935  17  4,637  00 

Board  of  Temperance,  Prohibition,  and  Public 

Morals 2,280  00  1,703  00 

Total $282,397  01  $77,892  08 


SOME  FIGURES  THAT  TALK 


132    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

every  three  persons  among  us,  we  can  show  you  one  who  is  a 
Methodist.  We  can  see  the  way  to  God  most  clearly  by  the 
way  of  the  Methodist  lead;  we  can  hear  the  Lord's  words 
better  through  Methodist  ears  than  through  other  ears.  We 
can  see  the  gates  of  glory  through  Methodist  eyes  better  than 
in  any  other  way."  Whether  they  live  on  the  cotton  or 
sugar  plantations  or  are  farmers  in  their  own  right,  the 
Negroes  love  the  church.  Whether  in  the  crowded  city  or  in 
the  rural  hamlet,  it  is  the  same.  And  it  is  in  this  fact  that 
the  challenge  to  the  church  becomes  an  opportunity  for 
Christian  democracy  beyond  comparison.  Thrift  must  be 
taught.  Moral  ideals  must  be  lifted  up.  Responsibility 
must  be  made  a  habit.  The  support  of  their  own  institutions 
must  be  encouraged.  The  desire  for  education  must  be  more 
generally  created.  The  larger  outlook  must  be  given.  And 
in  so  doing  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  has  the  opportunity 
of  demonstrating  in  a  large  way  its  practical  ministry  to  the 
very  last  need  of  every  individual,  man,  woman,  and  child. 

The  response  to  an  appeal  to  the  many-sided  interests  of 
the  Negro's  life  is  seen  in  the  results  of  a  small  investment 
by  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  work  being  done  by  a  Negro 
district  superintendent,  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  rural  Negro  communities  of  the  South,  in  the 
following  quotation  from  his  report  for  the  Brookhaven  Dis- 
trict of  the  Mississippi  Conference  at  the  Annual  Confer- 
ence: 

"In  addition  to  food  conservation,  the  leader  in  demon- 
stration work  gave  special  attention  to  increased  production, 
working  together,  and  health  preservation.  His  report 
showed  that  he  traveled  220  miles,  visited  12  churches,  or- 
ganized 15  clubs,  as  follows:  3  tomato,  3  potato,  4  corn,  4 
poultry,  1  industrial  and  economic.  For  this  work  he  was 
paid  $25  a  month,  traveling  expenses  being  paid  by  those 
whom  he  served.  The  leader  in  charge  of  women's  club 
work  was  to  give  public  demonstration  of  food  conservation. 
Her  report  showed  that  she  traveled  263  miles  by  rail  and 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEGRO     133 

73  by  team ;  worked  two  months,  gave  public  demonstrations, 
reached  1,400  housewives  and  canned  personally  2,488 
pounds  of  food.  For  this  work  she  received  $25  a  month. 
Her  board  and  traveling  expenses  were  provided  by  the  com- 
munities in  which  she  labored.  As  a  result  of  this  coopera- 
tion and  of  other  activities  on  the  part  of  the  district  super- 
intendent, over  8,000  pounds  of  meat  and  50,000  pounds  of 
canned  goods  were  saved.  Five  hundred  and  fifty-five  boys 
were  enrolled  in  corn  and  other  clubs  and  263  girls  in  tomato- 
canning  and  poultry  clubs.  Rural  reading  clubs  were  organ- 
ized and  plans  made  for  the  purchase  of  forty  acres  of  land 
to  be  used  as  a  district  headquarters  and  as  a  place  for  a 
retired  minister's  home.  On  this  land  will  be  carried  on 
agricultural  demonstration  activities  and  will  be  located  the 
rural  folk  high  school  for  colored  people." 

Moke  Trained  Leaders  Needed 

There  is  an  increasing  demand  for  trained  Negro  lead- 
ers for  guiding  their  people  into  this  sort  of  appreciation  of 
cooperation  with  every  form  of  life.  That  the  number  is 
increasing  is  encouraging.  The  material  is  there,  as  is  evi- 
denced by  the  lawyers,  preachers,  editors,  inventors,  teach- 
ers, and  poets  whom  the  race  has  already  produced.  James 
Weldon  Johnson,  a  Negro  poet  of  no  mean  power,  puts  it 
well  in  his  *'0  Black  and  Unknown  Bard"  when  he  sings: 

"Heart  of  what  slave  poured  out  such  melody 
As  'Steal  away  to  Jesus'  ?     On  its  strains 
His  spirit  must  have  nightly  floated  free 

Though  still  about  his  hands  he  felt  his  chains 
Who  heard  great  'Jordan  Eoll'?    Whose  starward  eye 
Saw  chariot  'Swing  low'  ?    And  who  was  he 
^  That  breathed  that  comforting,  melodic  sigh, 

'Nobody  knows  de  trouble  I  see'? 

"What  merely  living  clod,  what  captive  thing. 

Could  up  toward  God  through  all  its  darkness  grope. 
And  find  within  its  deadened  heart  to  sing 

These  songs  of  sorrow,  love  and  faith,  and  hope? 


134    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

How  did  it  catch  that  subtle  undertone, 

That  note  in  music  heard  not  with  the  ears? 

How  sound  the  elusive  reed  so  seldom  blown. 

Which  stirs  the  soul  or  melts  the  hearts  to  tears?" 

The  Exodus  North 

The  five  hundred  thousand  Negroes  from  the  South  who 
have  invaded  the  Northern  States  did  not  come  with  the  song 
"I  Wish  I  were  in  the  Land  of  Cotton"  upon  their  lips. 
They  swarmed  north  by  the  trainload  with  the  hope  that ' '  up 
North"  they  would  find  some  new  El  Dorado,  where  every- 
thing for  which  they  had  hoped  or  dreamed  would  be  theirs. 
Unguided  by  any  wise  and  sane  leadership,  but  coming  be- 
cause the  crowd  was  on  the  way,  these  men  and  women  and 
children  are  providing  by  their  presence  a  challenge  to  the 
Christianity  of  the  Northern  States  that  is  marked  ''An- 
swer some  way  or  other ! ' '  Unaccustomed  to  the  ways  of  the 
North,  these  Negroes  came  as  strangers  and  are  finding  the 
Northern  cities  a  far  different  place  than  what  they  had  sup- 
posed. The  resulting  overcrowding  of  the  Negro  sections  of 
the  cities  has  put  the  situation  out  of  the  argumentative  class 
into  a  practical  relationship  to  the  life, of  the  whole  com- 
munity, and  now  there  arises  the  great  question  which  must 
be  answered  by  every  one  who  has  taken  the  name  of  ^ 
follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  upon  his  lips.  The  ques- 
tion is  not  only  *'What  are  we  going  to  do  with  them?"  but 
also  ''What  are  we  going  to  do  for  them?  How  may  we  best 
serve  one  of  the  most  pressing  needs  of  the  present  time?" 

There  is  no  wise  man  arising  who  can  say  offhand  we 
will  do  thus  and  so.  Rather  it  is  a  problem  for  every  citizen 
of  every  community  to  think  over  deeply,  to  ask  wisely  con- 
cerning and  to  give  of  his  time,  thought  and  money  toward 
a  solution  that  will,  in  some  way,  fit  these  people  for  the  new 
life  which  they  find  round  about  them,  help  them  to  accustom 
themselves  to  the  ways  which  they  must  meet  in  the  North, 
and  finally  to  find  some  plan  for  providing  housing,  enter- 
tainment and  church  provision  for  every  one  of  them.    It  is 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEGRO     135 

no  problem  to  be  disposed  of  around  the  stove  in  tbe  village 
grocery.  Rather  it  is  a  question  for  Christian  statesmen, 
citizens  and  all  who  have  at  heart  the  best  interests  of  our 
city  life.  To  this  task  must  be  given  long  and  thoughtful 
attention. 

The  problem  as  seen  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  is  twofold.  First,  to  somehow  con- 
serve the  work  already  done  in  the  South  where  the  migra- 
tion is  leaving.  In  many  instances  literally  whole  communi- 
ties and  parishes  are  depopulated.  Second,  to  provide  re- 
ligious opportunities  for  those  people  who  have  come  from 
our  own  churches  of  the  South  as  well  as  those  as  yet  un- 
reached by  church  influences — so  that  at  the  beginning  of 
their  new  life  in  the  North  they  may  all  have  the  influence  of 
the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  to  shape  and  mold  their  future. 
In  both  of  these  phases  of  the  problem  finance  is  involved  in 
a  very  large  way. 

The  way  folks  are  housed  lifts  up  or  drags  down  any 
community.  When  landlords  rent  disreputable,  unsanitary, 
vile  shacks  for  a  high  price,  to  so  many  Negroes  that  they 
herd  together  until  the  sides  nearly  bulge  out,  the  sociol- 
ogist has  a  fact  to  work  on.  When  a  dozen  men  and  women 
eat  and  sleep  together  in  a  single  room,  without  proper  light, 
ventilation  or  sanitation,  the  moralist  has  a  fact  to  which 
to  pin  his  thinking.  And  when  these  men  by  the  thousands 
are  squandering  their  wages  on  liquor  and  lewd  women,  and 
when  the  young  girls  are  being  met  at  the  railroad  stations 
and  taken  away  by  city-bred  Negroes  who  ''know  the  town," 
there  is  surely  sufficient  scientific  data  for  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ  to  rouse  itself  and  do  something  of  a  construc- 
tive character  at  once. 

Prove  all  this  ?  In  Detroit  a  one-story-and-a-half  shack 
with  four  rooms  on  the  first  floor  and  one  room  or  attic  above 
was  "remodeled"  camp-meeting  style  into  a  four-  and  a  five- 
room  apartment  on  the  first  floor,  the  front  apartment  rent- 
ing for  $35.00  a  month,  and  two  apartments  upstairs.  A  few 
doors  away  a  family  pays  $16.00  a  month  for  a  single  un- 


136    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

furnished  room  without  even  running  water.  And  every  one 
of  these  rooms  is  so  crowded  with  Negroes  that  one  almost 
has  to  go  out  into  the  backyard  to  turn  around. 

In  Newark,  New  Jersey,  an  investigation  was  made  by 
trained  workers  of  120  self-supporting  families,  living  in  the 
worst  section  of  the  city.  A  close  study  of  53  of  these  fam- 
ilies reveals  that  166  adults — only  20  of  whom  were  over  40 
years  of  age — and  134  children,  a  total  of  300  souls,  are  aii 
crowded  into  unsanitary,  dark  quarters,  averaging  four  and 
two-seventh  persons  to  a  room. 

To  be  * '  all  dressed  up  and  no  place  to  go  "  is  a  sad  state 
for  any  one  to  be  in.  But  for  a  Southern  Negro  unused  to 
Northern  ways  to  be  in  this  predicament  and  at  the  same 
time  to  have  more  money  in  his  pockets  than  he  ever  had  be- 
fore, is  a  dangerous  situation.  For  to  him  are  closed  so  many 
reputable  places  where  he  might  make  merry  for  the  even- 
ing in  an  innocent  way.  But  wide  oj^en  are  the  pool  rooms, 
the  saloons  make  special  provision  for  him,  and  the  houses 
of  ill-fame,  which  know  **no  color,  race,  or  creed,"  entreat 
him  within  their  shameless  walls.  Small  chance  of  wife  or 
mother  left  down  South  getting  any  of  his  wages.  Not  even 
his  manhood  will  be  left  when  they  see  him  again. 

And  the  girls — what  chance  has  any  unsophisticated 
country  girl  coming  to  a  big  city  without  friends  or  others 
to  shield  her  until  she  gets  her  bearings?  It  is  easy  to  slip 
by  the  friendly  woman  who  watches  at  the  railroad  station 
to  befriend  such  as  she.  And  why  not  have  a  lark  with  the 
charming  ** George,"  with  his  fine  clothes  and  gentlemanly. 
ways!  Why  not?  She  is  going  to  have  a  hard  enough  time 
after  she  gets  to  work.  At  any  rate  she  has  the  lark.  So 
do  hundreds  of  her  sisters.  And  the  hospitals  and  society  at 
large,  as  well  as  she  herself,  will  have  to  bear  the  burden  of 
her  folly. 

Southern  Negroes  have  been  coming  into  our  Northern 
cities  in  such  numbers  as  to  force  a  rearrangement  of  life 
in  many  of  them.  Chicago  has  75,000 ;  Pittsburgh  has  10,- 
000 ;  Saint  Louis,  Missouri,  1,000 ;  East  Saint  Louis,  Illinois, 


THE  CHUECH  AND  THE  NEGRO     137 

6,000;  Detroit,  25,000;  Philadelphia  and  vicinity,  40,000; 
and  other  cities  proportionately.  It  is  a  permanent  change 
of  residence  for  90  per  cent  of  these  folks,  75  per  cent  of 
whom  are  males  and  65  per  cent  of  whom  are  under  fifty 
years  of  age. 

The  church  cannot  remain  inactive  in  relation  to  this 
phase  of  its  relationship  to  the  Negro.  It  must  act,  and  act 
promptly. 

Shauj  Christian  Democracy  Prevail? 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  through  its  General 
Conference  of  1864,  stated  that  ''justice  to  those  who  have 
been  enslaved  requires  that  in  all  the  privileges  of  citizen- 
ship, as  well  as  in  all  other  rights  of  a  common  manhood, 
there  shall  be  no  distinction  founded  upon  color. ' '  The  pur- 
pose of  the  church  has  been  to  help  the  Negro  to  become  pre- 
pared for  full  participation  in  Christian  democracy  and  then 
to  see  that  he  has  it.  In  these  days  of  the  shedding  of  inno- 
cent blood  for  the  ideal  of  democracy,  or  the  rights  of  the 
people  irrespective  of  color  or  creed,  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  must  renew  its  grip  upon  its  claim  of  being 
preeminently  the  church  of  the  people.  In  making  ''the 
world  safe  for  democracy,"  and  "democracy  safe  for  the 
world,"  which  in  the  first  place  precipitates  the  greatest 
struggle  of  the  ages,  and  in  the  second  place,  makes  neces- 
sary the  greatest  effort  Methodism  has  ever  made,  may  not 
the  heroism  and  the  sacrifice  in  the  trenches  of  so  many  of 
Methodism's  black  sons  make  easier  the  attainment  of  all 
that  the  church  would  have  for  its  Negro  members  ?  This  is 
the  question  many  are  asking.  With  what  response  shall  the 
church  make  answer  ?  Will  it  declare  that  the  utterance  of 
the  fathers  included  democracy  in  church  affairs  as  well  as 
in  affairs  of  state?  Who  can  answer?  The  celebration  of 
the  Centenary  of  Methodist  Missions  centers  around  the 
labors  of  John  Stewart,  a  Negro,  the  first  missionary  to  the 
Wyandotte  Indians.  Into  what  broader  paths  of  oppor- 
tunity will  the  Centenary  lead  the  successors  of  this  black 


138    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

man?  Christian  democracy  within  the  walls  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  meets  a  question  which  must  be  answered 
frankly  at  this  point. 

Through  its  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Ex- 
tension the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  appropriated  $50,- 
032.85  for  the  support  of  ministers  and  the  erection  of  church 
buildings  for  Negroes  in  1918.  Now  she  must  do  some- 
thing to  break  the  long  record  of  3,200  lynchings  which  the 
last  thirty-five  years  charge  up  against  our  Christian 
democracy.  The  barriers  which  prevent  the  Negro  from 
participating  in  the  industrial  opportunities  of  the  land  must 
be  battered  down.  He  must  be  permitted  to  live  in  houses 
which  are  fit  to  live  in.  Provision  must  be  made  for  whole- 
some social  life  for  him.  The  Negro  is  not  a  subjective  thesis 
for  the  purpose  of  discussion.  He  is  an  objective  reality. 
He  is  a  part  of  the  life  of  every  community.  Tliat  he  must 
be  a  party  to  the  securing  of  the  things  which  he  needs  is 
granted.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  other  party  to 
the  problem  must  see  to  it  that  he  has  a  fair  chance  to  do 
this  very  thing.  We  must  give  serious  heed  to  the  words  of 
Benjamin  Brawley,  who  says  :^ 

'*We  feel  that  the  United  States  cannot  long  remain  in 
the  dilemma  of  fighting  for  democracy  while  at  the  same  time 
she  denies  the  fundamental  principles  of  democracy  at  home. 
We  cannot  much  longer  pluck  the  mote  from  our  brother's 
eye  unmindful  at  the  same  time  of  the  beam  in  our  own. 
Meanwhile,  however,  the  Negro  goes  quietly  about  his  work. 
He  has  picked  corn  and  pulled  fodder,  scrubbed  floors  and 
washed  windows,  fired  engines  and  dipped  turpentine.  He 
is  not  quite  content,  however,  to  be  simply  the  doormat  to 
American  civilization.  Twelve  million  people  are  ceasing  to 
accept  slander  and  insult  without  a  protest.  They  have 
heard  about  freedom,  justice,  and  happiness,  though  these 
things  seemed  not  for  them.  They  cannot  quite  see  the  con- 
sistency of  fighting  for  outraged  Belgians  or  Armenians  so 
long  as  the  rights  of  citizens  at  home  are  violated.  In  the 
'Your  Negro  Neighbor,  by  Benjamin  Brawley  (Macmlllan). 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEGRO     139 

words  of  Foraker,  'They  ask  no  favors  because  they  are 
Negroes,  but  only  justice  because  they  are  men. '  ' ' 

Has  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  an  answer  that  is 
demonstrable  to  the  implications  of  what  this  man  puts  so 
bluntly? 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  In  what  way  has  full  participation  in  Christian 
democracy  been  withheld  from  the  Negro  I 

2.  What  is  the  obligation  of  the  Christian  Church  in 
this  matter  1 

3.  Discuss  the  Negro  as  a  patriot.  How  has  the  train- 
ing given  by  the  church  helped  to  make  him  a  useful  soldier 
and  officer? 

4.  In  what  way  has  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
helped  in  the  Christian  education  of  the  Negro  1 

5.  Just  what  are  the  implications  of  the  Negro  herit- 
age of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church? 

6.  Discuss  the  statistics  of  the  Negro  membership  of 
our  church. 

7.  Why  are  more  trained  Negro  leaders  for  Negroes 
needed?    What  are  the  possibilities  of  securing  them? 

8.  What  new  problems  has  the  exodus  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  Negroes  to  Northern  cities  brought  with  it? 

9.  Why  is  the  providing  of  proper  housing  for  Negroes 
an  obligation  of  the  church  ? 

10.  What  has  been  the  stand  taken  by  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  with  reference  to  the  Negro's  rights  to 
citizenship  ? 

11.  To  what  extent  have  the  principles  of  Christian 
democracy  been  applied  to  the  Negro  in  the  church  ? 

12.  How  far  are  the  implications  of  Benjamin  Brawley 
correct?    What  are  we  going  to  do  about  it? 


Persons  are  of  more  value  than  institutions,  but  institutions  are 
one  great  means  of  developing  persons;  in  fact,  persons  are  constantly 
being  shaped  by  institutions,  either  for  good  or  ill.  A  good  environ- 
ment does  not  necessarily  mean  a  good  character,  but  one  of  the  indis- 
pensable resources  for  making  a  good  character  is  to  provide  a  favorable 
environment. — Eugene  W.  LyrnaUj  in  The  God  of  the  New  Age. 

The  story  of  church  extension  is  written  not  only  in  thousands  of 
structures,  which,  in  all  parts  of  our  land,  point  the  thought  of  man 
from  earth  heavenward,  but  in  tens  of  thousands  of  homes  and  redeemed 
souls  who  have  found  their  way  into  the  kingdom  of  God  at  the  altars 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  churches  which  in  the  past  forty  years  have 
been  created  by  the  aid  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension. — Alpha  G. 
Kynett,  in  The  Story  of  Church  Extension. 

Mother  Earth  has  made  liberal  contributions  toward  the  sod 
churches  of  Methodism.  And  the  sod  churches  of  Methodism  have  made 
large  contributions  to  the  leadership  of  the  church.  But  because  the 
wheelbarrow  made  a  first-class  vehicle  for  the  delivering  of  merchandise 
from  the  general  store  to  the  doors  of  our  grandmothers,  it  does  not 
weigh  as  an  argument  to  the  modern  department  store  to  forego  the  help- 
fulness of  auto  delivery,  express  and  parcel  post.  The  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  must  be  housed  in  accordance  with  the  times  in  which  it  is  min- 
istering. Especially  is  this  true  when  people  are  building  better  homes 
for  themselves.  Even  David  of  old  had  a  few  remarks  to  make  upon  this 
subject.  Many  of  the  churches  built  in  the  yesterdays  must  be  replaced 
to-day  with  modem  structures  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  changed  com- 
munity. Communities  in  the  dry-farming  sections  are  being  built  in 
modern  style  from  the  very  start.  When  a  new  community  builds  a 
$100,000  schoolhouse,  shall  the  church  put  up  an  ancient  horseshed  plus 
a  door? — Whitford  L.  McDowell,  in  The  Builders. 


CHAPTEE  VI 
CHEISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  POWER  PLANTS 

The  House  of  Vision  and  Ideals 

Cheistian  democracy  is  not  a  force  that  develops  un- 
aided. Based  on  ideas  and  ideals  that  are  fundamental  to 
the  best  human  relationships,  it  needs  power  plants  from 
which  its  spirit  may  be  sent  forth  in  the  lives  of  individ- 
uals. This  great  service  in  the  nation's  trend  toward  life's 
finest  and  best  is  rendered  for  the  most  part  by  the  Christian 
Church.  Its  impetus  is  in  the  thought  and  lives  of  the  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  followers  of  Jesus  Christ  throughout 
the  land.  Its  local  power  plant  is  the  building  which  we 
designate  as  the  church,  for  here  are  taught  the  principles 
which  react  in  human  living.  Here  are  sent  forth  the  in- 
spiration and  enthusiasm  that  make  the  life  accord  with  the 
teaching.  To  this  place  come  the  people,  worn  with  the  at- 
tempt to  practice  Christian  democracy,  for  fresh  encour- 
agement and  help  to  continue  in  accordance  with  the  vision. 
The  hopes  and  aspirations  of  the  people  are  here  shaped  in 
harmony  with  the  purpose  of  Him  who  came  to  establish  a 
Kingdom  which  should  be  democratic  beyond  any  dream 
which  the  race  has  yet  seen  come  true.  In  nearly  every  com- 
munity of  the  land  stands  the  church — a  building  merely  to 
those  who  know  not  its  power.  To  those  who  know,  how- 
ever, these  structures  of  sod  or  wood  or  stone  or  brick  are 
the  dwellings  wherein  for  generations  men  and  women  have 
been  learning  how  to  exemplify  those  ideals  which  have 
made  the  United  States  the  great  nation  it  now  is. 

Were  it  not  for  the  local  church  with  its  definite  plant 
there  would  be  no  stability  to  the  development  of  America's 
greatest  asset.    Ideals  would  vary  and  shift.    Vision  would 

143 


144    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

grow  dim  and  disappear.  Each  new  generation  would  re- 
peat the  mistakes  of  its  fathers.  The  voice  of  the  prophet 
would  be  stilled.  Little  children  would  grow  up  with  an 
Americanism  which  lacked  trust  in  God.  The  human  service 
rendered  through  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ  would  cease. 
Economic  and  social  problems,  instead  of  pushing  on  toward 
a  day  of  solution,  would  multiply,  become  more  complex  and 
vainly  seek  answer.  The  ways  of  newcomers  from  other 
shores  would  fasten  themselves  on  the  community.  The 
very  things  which  our  fathers  sailed  over  stormy  seas  to 
secure  would  disappear.  With  so  many  of  the  nations  of 
the  earth  we  would  be  standing  at,  the  crossroads  anxiously 
asking  the  way.  As  it  is,  however,  from  thousands  of  pul- 
pits there  sounds  forth  a  message  of  comfort  and  direction. 
In  thousands  of  Sunday  schools  the  flag  of  the  cross  is  inter- 
twined with  the  stars  and  stripes.  America  the  beautiful  is 
such  because  at  all  hours  of  the  day  the  standards  of  the 
Christ  are  mingled  with  the  aims  of  the  nation.  Because  the 
church  stands  at  the  corner  of  the  highway  we  know  that 
our  national  ideals  will  live  in  practice. 

Power  Plants  that  Work 

The  Christian  leaders  who  decided  that  a  community 
ought  to  have  a  church  building  whether  the  people  could 
afford  it  or  not  were  wiser  than  they  knew.  When  they  set 
forth  to  collect  money  in  one  community  for  the  purpose  of 
building  a  church  in  another  community  they  began  a  service 
to  the  nation  whose  influence  can  never  be  computed.  Not 
only  must  the  rejoicing  of  the  circuit  rider  who  was  thus 
able  to  house  his  flock  be  taken  into  the  reckoning.  Account 
must  also  be  taken  of  the  men  and  women  who  know  what 
Christian  democracy  is  because  of  this  work — conamunities 
of  law-abiding  people  instead  of  the  wild  disorder  of  the 
frontier,  relationships  of  helpfulness  instead  of  the  desper- 
ate effort  for  self  alone,  a  community  consciousness  based  on 
the  ideal  of  each  for  all  and  all  for  each.  Across  the  country 
from  coast  to  coast  these  power  plants  have  been  established, 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  POWER  PLANTS  145 

and  to-day  tHey  are  rendering  service  according  to  the 
peculiar  demands  of  their  community  as  far  as  their  limited 
equipment  will  permit. 

Church  Extension  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

Technically  this  planting  of  churches  in  community 
after  community  is  called  "church  extension."  It  is  at  the 
heart  of  all  Home  Mission  endeavor.  In  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  it  started  in  a  small  way  in  Iowa.  The  expan- 
sion of  the  West  and  the  inability  of  the  settlers  to  provide 
at  once  homes  and  churches  without  outside  assistance  came 
as  a  challenge  to  Iowa  Methodists.  Dr.  Alpha  Jefferson 
Kynett  organized  a  local  Church  Extension  Society  at 
Dubuque,  Iowa,  in  1856.  With  his  fellow  ministers  he  was 
instrumental  in  collecting  money  and  helping  many  a  fron- 
tier preacher  to  erect  a  house  of  God.  "After  traveling  two 
thousand  miles  to  pitch  a  gospel  tent  it  meant  something  to 
have  aid  in  building  a  church. ' ' 

It  was  not  until  the  session  of  the  General  Conference  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  which  met  in  Philadelphia 
in  1864,  that  a  church-wide  organization  was  adopted.  From 
that  time  until  1907,  the  Church  Extension  Society  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which  became  the  Board  of 
Church  Extension  in  1873,  conducted  its  great  work  as  one 
of  the  general  boards  of  the  church.  In  1907,  when  the  work 
of  the  Methodist  Missionary  Society  was  divided,  the  home 
mission  activities  were  merged  with  the  Board  of  Church 
Extension  under  the  corporate  name  of  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions  and  Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  with  headquarters  in  Philadelphia,  where  the 
Church  Extension  office  had  been  from  its  beginning.  With 
the  reorganization  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension  by  the  General  Conference  of  1916, 
Church  Extension  was  organized  as  a  department  with  a 
superintendent  in  charge. 

What  a  story  is  the  work  of  the  Church  Extension  So- 
ciety and  the  Board  of  Church  Extension!    For  forty-one 


146    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

years  they  labored  before  the  work  was  merged  with  another 
organization.  In  terms  of  money  alone  its  treasury  received 
and  distributed  $9,067,763.68.  In  terms  of  communities 
helped  in  some  form  of  church  erection  we  find  15,000 
churches  aided  either  by  gift  or  loan.  Where  are  they 
located?  Three  thousand  of  them  are  among  the  colored 
people;  1,800  are  among  the  white  constituency  of  the 
South;  7,000  of  them  will  be  found  beyond  the  Mississippi 
River.  The  remainder?  In  every  nook  and  corner  of  the 
land. 

These  figures  can  be  repeated  in  a  short  space  of  time. 
But  they  cover  years  of  progress  in  extending  the  Kingdom. 
They  recall  the  days  of  the  pioneer  preacher  and  the  sod 
churches  which  the  people  put  up  for  a  place  of  worship. 
And  even  a  sod  church  causes  God  to  become  more  than  an 
abstract  proposition  in  a  worshipless  community.  Memories 
of  other  days  sweep  in  at  full  tide.  The  teachings  of  child- 
hood revive.  The  hopes  long  buried  in  the  refuse  pile  of  sin 
seem  almost  to  take  new  life.  For  a  church  in  the  community 
is  considered  a  good  thing  even  by  those  who  would  hardly 
know  what  to  do  once  inside  the  building.  The  church  to 
most  folks  suggests  and  symbolizes  God.  And  somewhere, 
somehow,  the  lone  traveler  along  the  pathway  of  his  own 
desires  expects  to  meet  God  and  talk  things  over. 

Bankers  for  the  Kingdom 

It  is  the  church  at  large  which  provides  the  money  used 
to  help  build  Methodist  Episcopal  churches  in  needy  com- 
munities. Practicing  the  principle  of  Christian  faith  that 
the  strong  should  help  the  weak,  each  congregation  in  the 
connection  gives  an  ofFenng  for  this  cause  annually.  The 
offering  is  given  for  home  missions  and  church  extension, 
and  the  proportion  to  be  used  for  each  purpose  is  decided  by 
the  Board  at  its  annual  meeting.  Following  this  general 
division  of  the  total  funds  received  for  the  year  the  amount 
for  church  extension  is  again  apportioned  among  the  An- 
nual and  Mission  Conferences  and  Missions.    But  a  Confer- 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  POWER  PLANTS  147 

ence  may  not  use  the  amount  placed  to  its  credit  independ- 
ently and  indiscriminately.  A  regular  form  of  proceeding  is 
required.  All  of  the  precautions  that  a  bank  would  take  in 
distributing  money  are  taken  by  the  Department  of  Church 
Extension  in  the  performance  of  its  task  of  helpfulness. 

The  Swedish  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Verners- 
burg,  Washington,  recently  wanted  a  donation  of  $500.  If 
there  was  $500  standing  to  the  credit  of  the  Pacific  Swedish 
Mission  Conference,  the  local  church  must  fill  out  an  applica- 
tion blank  giving  a  full  statement  as  to  the  imperativeness  of 
the  aid.  The  Board  of  Trustees,  the  pastor,  and  the  district 
superintendent  must  all  indorse  the  application.  This  done, 
the  application  goes  to  the  Pacific  Swedish  Mission  Confer- 
ence Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  for  its 
approval.  This  Conference  Board  is  composed  of  ministers 
and  laymen  with  the  district  superintendents  as  ex-offtcio 
members.  After  approval  by  the  Conference  Board  the  ap- 
plication now  goes  to  the  Department  of  Church  Extension 
at  Philadelphia,  where  the  facts  in  the  case  are  carefully 
canvassed.  This  committee  decides  whether  the  application 
shall  be  presented  to  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Board 
with  recommendation  to  grant  or  not  to  grant.  When  the 
recommendation  is  favorable,  and  the  Executive  Committee, 
which  meets  monthly,  votes  the  appropriation  asked  for, 
the  amount  is  deducted  from  the  Conference  credit  and  after 
certain  formalities  are  conformed  with  a  check  for  the 
amount  granted  sent  to  the  local  church.  Before  this  pay- 
ment can  be  made  the  local  Board  of  Trustees  are  required 
to  sign  a  Trustees'  Statement  and  Pledge.  This  document 
shows  the  progress  of  the  building  being  constructed  or 
remodeled  and  the  actual  condition  of  the  enterprise  at  the 
date  of  the  donation.  It  is  also  a  pledge  from  the  trustees 
to  finish  the  structure  free  from  debt  by  a  certain  date. 
There  is  also  required,  for  donations  of  $250  or  more,  a  trust 
bond  and  rfiortgage  covering  the  amount  of  the  donation 
for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  church  at  large.  This  pro- 
tection comes  when  the  property  is  alienated  from  Meth- 


148    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

odism,  the  corporate  existence  of  the  church  ceases,  or  the 
property  is  sold.  In  any  of  these  emergencies  the  amount 
of  the  mortgage  with  interest  must  be  returned  to  the  De- 
partment of  Church  Extension.  When  this  occurs  the 
amount  of  the  original  donation  is' again  placed  to  the  credit 
of  the  Conference  within  whose  boundaries  the  defunct 
church  is  located.  The  First  Swedish  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  received  a  donation  of 
$500  in  1917,  which  was  originally  granted  twenty  years 
before  and  returned  again  to  the  Board  when  the  property 
was  sold  in  1915. 

By  adhering  strictly  to  this  process  there  can  be  no 
favoritism  shown  particular  churches  or  sections  of  the 
country,  and  the  trusteeship  of  the  Board  of  Home  Mis- 
sions and  Church  Extension  meets  the  fullest  requirements 
of  the  business  world  in  the  handling  of  its  trust. 

Money  to  Lend 

Not  every  church  desires  a  gift  when  under  the  financial 
pressure  resulting  from  its  building  enterprise.  A  loan  suffi- 
cient to  carry  the  burden  for  a  brief  period  is  sufficient.  It 
is  with  churches  as  it  often  is  with  individuals.  To  meet 
such  njecessities  the  Loan  Fund  stands  ready.  This  Loan 
Fund,  which  now  amounts  to  $1,950,000,  has  been  built  up  by 
personal  gifts,  legacies,  and  annuities. 

The  first  movement  for  a  loan  fund  was  worked  out  in 
1856  by  Methodists  of  the  Upper  Iowa  Conference.  They 
first  collected  $4,725.  The  plan  was  to  loan  churches  money 
for  building  purposes  at  a  very  low  rate  of  interest.  In 
1870  this  Loan  Fund  was  transferred  to  the  parent  board 
to  be  used  in  the  Upper  Iowa  Conference.  In  1873  the  Loan 
Fund  for  the  entire  church  was  proposed  and  adopted  by 
General  Conference.  An  annuity  feature  was  added  in  1870. 
Not  a  dollar  of  this  Loan  Fund  can  ever  be  used  for  dona- 
tions to  churches,  and  loans  are  made  only  on  what  the 
Board  considers  adequate  security.  What  constitutes  ade- 
quate security  has  been  determined  as  a  result  of  forty 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  POWER  PLANTS  149 

years'  experience  in  lending  money  to  local  churches.  And 
with  the  best  of  security  a  single  church  may  not  borrow  over 
$5,000,  except  under  special  conditions. 

The  legal  statement  which  must  accompany  an  appli- 
cation for  aid  from  the  Loan  Fund  is  of  such  character  that 
a  competent  attorney  should  fill  it  out.  In  order  to  secure 
the  loan  desired  it  is  necessary  for  the  church  to  give  a  first 
mortgage  for  the  amount  received  and  the  trustees  to  give  a 
bond  personally  as  well  as  officially  for  the  prompt  payment 
of  the  principal  and  interest  at  five  per  cent.  The  interest 
must  be  paid  semi-annually  and  the  principal  in  five  annual 
installments.  In  addition  to  this  the  loan  must  be  the  last 
money  to  pay  all  indebtedness  on  a  complete  enterprise, 
't'he  purpose  of  the  Loan  Fund  is  thus  seen  to  be  church 
extension  and  not  merely  church  relief.  The  bald  statement 
of  the  process  is  lacking  in  color.  But  in  the  local  com- 
munities where  such  help  has  been  given  is  the  material  for 
romance  and  adventure  beyond  the  interest  of  a  "best 
seller." 

The  Romance  of  Church  Extension 

Underneath  the  purely  business  side  of  the  transactions 
described  is  the  human  story.  In  Las  Vegas,  New  Mexico, 
is  the  only  Methodist  Episcopal  church  within  two  hundred 
miles.  It  received  a  donation  of  $1,000  from  church  exten- 
sion funds  in  1909.  A  gift  of  $500  prevented  the  sale  of  the 
church  in  1909.  It  received  another  donation  of  $1,000  in 
1912.  And  now  in  1918  it  requests  another  donation  of  $240. 
Was  this  last  request  granted!  It  was.  This  Methodist 
Episcopal  society  of  seventy-one  members  and  a  Sunday 
school  of  one  hundred  and  forty-one  wanted  the  money  to 
build  an  addition  to  the  church.  They  needed  a  place  for 
Sunday  school  purposes,  Epworth  League,  and  social  activ- 
ities, including  a  kitchen  for  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society.  The 
addition  to  the  original  structure  netted  only  a  room  eighteen 
by  thirty-two  feet.  But  what  an  addition  to  the  better  life  of 
the  community  I   What  an  advance  for  Christian  democracy  I 


150    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

There  was  only  one  other  kind  of  place  for  the  young  men 
of  the  town  to  go  besides  the  saloon,  and  that  kind  was  the 
houses  of  disrepute,  one  of  which  harbored  seventy-five  girls. 
The  railroad  gave  three  lots  to  the  church  people  there. 
The  people  themselves  have  given  to  their  limit.  And, 
finally,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which  boasts  a  con- 
nectionalism  without  equal,  comes  forward  through  the 
church  extension  end  of  its  ministry  and  assures  the  good 
people  of  Las  Vegas  that  it  is  concerned  in  the  sort  of  op- 
portunity for  proper  development  given  to  the  young  men 
and  young  women  of  their  community. 

What  a  story  one  could  tell  of  staying  the  hammer  of 
the  auctioneer  as  he  was  about  to  say  ''Gone!"  over  the 
property  of  the  Maryland  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  Annapolis,  Maryland!  That  these  enthusiastic 
Maryland  Methodists  builded  beyond  their  means  is  not  the 
point.  They  had  established  a  church  in  their  community. 
To  have  it  sold  at  auction  would  not  discredit  them  alone,  but 
also  the-  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  the  Kingdom  at 
large.  So  the  church  extension  agency  of  Methodism 
stepped  in  and,  with  the  cooperation  awakened  in  the  Balti- 
more Conference,  was  able  to  hold  $6,000  in  its  hand  and 
say,  "Auctioneer,  spare  that  church!"  To-day  this  church 
is  doing  business  for  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  capital  of 
Maryland  instead  of  being  listed  among  the  church  failures 
of  the  land. 

Tennessee  would  also  rise  to  be  recognized.  One  half  of 
the  170,000  inhabitants  of  Memphis  are  Negroes.  The 
Methodists  among  them  have  worshiped  in  a  half-built  struc- 
ture, through  which  blow  the  soft  spring  breezes  and  the 
icy  winter  blasts  alike.  The  Department  of  Church  Exten- 
sion has  come  to  the  rescue,  and  before  many  years  these 
faithful  folks  will  have  an  adequate  house  of  worship,  paid 
for  and  protected,  their  own  for  all  time. 

Along  every  trail  made  famous  by  pioneer  pathfinder 
may  be  found  the  evidence  of  this  beneficent  ministry.  In 
every  city  crowds  pass  daily  some  church  whose  life  is  now  a 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  POWER  PLANTS  151 

part  of  the  very  heart  of  the  commiiiiity  because  of  this  sort 
of  help  rendered  in  time  of  need.  It  may  be  a  Chinese  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  in  Oakland,  California,  whose  en- 
larged plant  makes  it  possible  to  reach  a  more  numerous 
^constituency.  It  may  be  an  Italian  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  in  Newcastle,  Pennsylvania,  which  is  able  to  do  more 
for  the  children  of  its  parish.  There  is  no  boundary  line 
save  that  of  need  which  decides  what  sort  of  a  church  shall 
have  help.  Without  this  help  some  of  these  churches  would 
now  be  closed.  With  the  help  rendered  they  are  continuing 
to  function  as  power  plants  for  Christian  democracy.  The 
races  of  the  earth  are  passing  through  their  doors.  The 
childhood  of  the  nation  is  being  shaped  in  their  Sunday 
schools.  The  youth  of  the  land  are  catching  the  vision  of  a 
kingdom  of  God  on  earth.  Manhood  and  womanhood  are 
receiving  the  guidance  necessary  for  making  home  an  insti- 
tution that  cooperates  with  the  state  and  the  church.  Every 
phase  of  life  is  touched  at  its  most  vital  point.  The  hope  of 
the  world  is  finding  justification.  The  dawn  of  the  day  when 
Christ  shall  reign  is  becoming  more  assured. 

The  Memorial.  Church 

Where  did  the  John  Holland  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  get  its  name  ?  That  is  the  question  asked  about  the 
church  in  many  communities.  Back  of  the  answer  to  the 
query  lies  one  of  the  choice  ministries  in  the  name  of  a  loved 
one  gone  before.  Scattered  over  the  country  are  churches 
which  have  been  built  in  memory  of  some  one,  whose  name 
and  ministry  thus  come  into  a  community  which  they  have 
never  seen.  What  an  opportunity  for  extending  the  influ- 
ence of  some  one  well-beloved  this  method  provides !  Each 
time  the  church  bell  rings  its  invitation  to  worship  the  name 
of  the  loved  one  is  mingled  with  the  thought  of  God.  When 
it  tolls  the  solemn  announcement  that  another  traveler  has 
departed  for  the  land  beyond,  the  thought  that  those  who 
made  possible  the  church  have  not  only  lost  a  loved  one  but 


152    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

have  also  found  help  and  comfort  in  God  comes  as  a  benedic- 
tion to  sorrowing  hearts. 

Such  a  memorial  immediately  permeates  the  daily  life  of 
the  people  of  the  community.  It  gradually  becomes  the 
center  of  their  interests.  Its  teachings  become  the  standard 
by  which  every  human  relationship  is  tested.  The  political 
doctrines  and  actions  of  the  people  are  modified  by  its  songs 
and  prayers.  As  an  exponent  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  Christian  democracy  it  comes  to  have  first  place.  The 
altars  of  such  a  church  are  wet  with  penitential  tears.  Jts 
walls  resound  with  the  songs  of  the  redeemed.  The  broken 
body  and  the  blood  of  the  Saviour  are  given  symbolically  in 
his  name  to  countless  numbers  conscious  of  his  mercy.  The 
assurance  of  the  risen  Lord,  "I  am  the  resurrection  and  the 
life,"  falls  with  healing  comfort  on  the  head  bowed  with 
grief  as  the  last  farewells  of  earth  are  spoken.  The  deepest 
life-experiences  of  unnumbered  people  become  intermingled 
with  a  memorial  of  this  kind. 

The  cost  of  naming  a  memorial  church  is  small  com- 
pared to  the  returns  on  the  investment.  Where  $250  are 
^ven,  the  local  people  must  raise  enough  to  erect  a  $2,000 
building.  For  $350  a  $3,000  church  must  be  built.  For  $500 
enough  must  be  provided  locally  to  complete  a  $4,000  struc- 
ture. And  what  a  stimulus  to  the  local  Methodists  in  raising 
this  money  I  It  creates  interest  and  encourages  to  sacrifice, 
impossible  without  help  from  outside.  Already  nine  hun- 
dred of  these  memorial  Methodist  Episcopal  churches  have 
been  built.  From  coast  to  coast  they  are  ministering  daily 
in  memory  of  some  nine  hundred  mothers,  sons,  wives,  hus- 
bands, fathers,  daughters,  and  friends.  Nine  hundred  homes 
are  gladdened  by  the  practical  expression  of  their  love  for 
the  one  who  is  gone.  Nine  hundred  communities  are  debtors 
for  a  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  to  one  whom  they  know  only 
in  name.  These  churches  would  make  three  Methodist  PJpis- 
copal  Annual  Conferences  if  conveniently  located.  And  the 
end  is  not  yet.  The  need  of  this  form  of  ministry  is  still  with 
us.    A  study  of  a  limited  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  POWER  PLANTS  153 

River  discloses  six  hundred  communities  of  one  thousand 
people  or  more  without  a  single  church.  For  hundreds  of 
square  miles  in  the  State  of  Oregon  no  church  building  is  to 
be  seen.  The  schoolhouse  is  the  accepted  place  for  worship- 
ing God  in  the  State  of  Wyoming,  while  in  West  Virginia 
there  are  over  sixty  Methodist  Episcopal  societies  without  a 
church  building. 

A  Page  from  the  Records 

The  rapid  developments  mentioned  in  connection  with 
the  frontier  increase  the  demand  for  this  sort  of  church  ex- 
tension. About  nine  years  ago  the  countrj'^  around  Utica, 
Montana,  began  to  be  settled  with  dry-land  farms.  Utica 
was  an  old  substation  and  trading  point  for  the  stock  men 
who  used  the  surrounding  country  for  grazing.  The  old- 
time  log  building  with  rough  fare  for  the  traveler  still  held 
its  place.  The  nearby  saloon  offered  the  customary  social 
attractions.  On  the  bench  outside  loafers  sunned  them- 
selves. Here  cowboys  came  to  get  drunk  and  hold  shooting 
contests.  The  Methodist  circuit  rider  established  a  preach- 
ing point  at  the  Bench  some  distance  away.  Four  years  later 
Denton,  four  miles  from  the  Bench,  began  to  develop.  And 
here  came  another  opportunity  for  a  memorial  church. 

The  district  superintendent  ai;d  the  Sunday  school  mis- 
sionary of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  held  the  first  Christian  service  in  Denton 
in  the  new  blacksmith  shop,  then  in  process  of  construction. 
The  farmers  all  brought  their  dinners.  Seats  were  provided 
from  boxes,  nail  kegs,  planks,  and  spring  wagon  seats.  An 
old  ladder  served  as  an  altar  where  the  people  knelt  to  re- 
ceive the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  next  place 
of  worship  was  the  dance  hall.  Here,  following  a  moving 
picture  show,  were  held  the  rough-and-tumble  and  the  ''se- 
lect" dances  of  the  community.  But  on  Sunday,  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  night  before  swept  away  by  a  thorough  clean- 
ing and  airing,  the  songs  of  faith  in  a  living  Christ  took  the 
place  of  the  strains  of  uncertain  music  and  the  shufl^ng  of 


154    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

feet.  The  pastor,  a  young  man  just  out  of  college,  paid  fif- 
teen dollars  a  month  for  his  ''parsonage."  It  was  a  small 
twelve-by-sixteen,  three-room  shack.  So  poorly  was  it  built 
that  he  was  obliged  to  wear  overshoes  in  the  house  to  keep 
his  feet  warm  in  the  winter  time. 

Now  Denton  is  alive  with  thrifty  business  men.  It  is 
surrounded  by  fine  dry-land  farms.  At  times  as  many  as 
one  hundred  and  fourteen  teams  will  be  lined  up,  waiting 
their  turn  to  unload  wheat  at  the  five  big  grain  elevators. 
Three  years  ago  another  young  college  man  became  the 
Methodist  preacher.  The  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension  helped  on  his  salary.  The  first  year  they 
gave  $250,  the  second  year  $100.  The  third  year  the  church 
was  self-supporting.  And  then  came  the  Memorial  Church. 
With  a  gift  of  $250  the  Phoebe  Rose  Memorial  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  was  started.  To-day  this  community, 
which  was  practically  nonexistent  nine  years  ago,  has  a 
church  and  bungalow  parsonage  worth  $6,000.  Ninety  mem- 
bers are  on  the  church  roll.  The  Sunday  school  is  in  a  flour- 
ishing condition.  Both  the  Epworth  League  and  Ladies' 
Aid  Society  are  doing  business,  and  the  congregation  last 
year  paid  $370  into  the  treasuries  of  the  general  benevolent 
boards  of  the  church. 

When  the  ministry  of  these  memorial  churches  is  esti- 
mated in  terms  of  high  ideals.  Christian  citizenship,  human 
brotherhood,  and  the  many  beneficial  customs  and  laws 
which  have  been  a  part  of  the  result  of  church  influence,  even 
the  intricacies  of  compound  interest  are  too  simple  to  help 
reach  the  total.  One  best  arrives  at  the  practical  benefits  of 
such  ministry  by  personal  investment  and  consequent  ob- 
servation of  the  changes  which  take  place  in  individuals  and 
in  the  community. 

The  Style  of  the  House  of  God 

The  crudeness  of  the  Christian  democracy  plants  built 
by  our  forefathers  has  aroused  considerable  criticism  in  our 
day.    The  building  made  by  the  stacking  of  sods  does  not 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  POWER  PLANTS  155 

appeal  to  the  worshiper  on  the  city  boulevard.  Nor  does  the 
log  church  or  the  ramshackle  plain  board  edifice  make  much 
better  impression.  Our  opinion  of  their  taste  in  church 
architecture  would  not  please  them.  But  they  built  with  the 
material  at  hand.  Their  one  desire  was  to  have  a  place  in 
which  they  might  worship  God.  The  pictures  which  are  pre- 
served to  us  are  monuments  to  heroic  faith  and  sacrifice 
rather  than  a  cause  for  laughter.  Moreover,  all  of  the  un- 
sightly church  buildings  were  not  built  in  their  day.  The 
people  still  serve  on  our  official  boards  who  perpetrated  some 
of  the  queer-looking  buildings  which  they  call  churches.  It 
may  be  that  they  built  according  to  their  conception  of 
church  architecture.  Probably  they  did.  By  so  doing  they 
demonstrated  that  a  man  may  be  a  good  blacksmith  or  grocer 
or  banker  and  still  not  know  what  a  church  ought  to  be  ar- 
chitecturally. 

It  is  this  fact  that  brought  into  existence  the  Bureau  of 
Architecture  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  It  is 
conducted  under  the  joint  a^^^pices  of  the  Board  of  Sunday 
Schools  and  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Ex- 
tension, with  headquarters  in  Chicago  and  Philadelphia. 
This  Bureau  is  making  a  careful  study  of  the  difficulties 
connected  with  church  architecture.  It  is  a  consulting  house 
for  the  churches  of  the  entire  denomination.  It  is  seeking 
to  help  congregations  to  find  a  type  of  building  suitable  for 
their  own  particular  needs.  Out  of  its  study  it  will  evolve 
some  types  of  church  buildings  that  can  be  recommended  in 
accordance  with  the  needs  of  the  community. 

The  work  of  the  Bureau  of  Architecture  is  based  upon 
the  fundamental  requirements  of  the  church  building,  a  place 
suitable  for  worship  and  work.  For  the  modern  church  is  a 
doing  organization.  Provision  must  therefore  be  made  for 
an  auditorium  for  worship,  for  suitable  quarters  for  reli- 
gious education,  and  for  rooms  for  social  activities.  For  the 
first  of  these  every  church  building  committee  jjrovides. 
But  very  few  churches  have  been  planned  with  any  thought 
of  graded  religious  instruction  in  the  Sunday  school.    Fre- 


156    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

quently  the  auditorium  has  been  made  to  serve  both  for 
public  worship  and  the  Sunday  school.  And  as  for  conven- 
iences for  social  activities,  they  were  not  even  mentioned. 
But  a  new  day  has  come.  With  the  church  destined  to  be 
the  community  center  larger  provision  must  be  made  in  the 
church  building  for  community  needs.  To  meet  these  new 
demands  and  to  guide  congregations  to  a  broader  outlook 
when  they  contemplate  building  a  new  church  is  the  aim  of 
this  bureau  which  is  now  in  the  early  days  of  its  ministry. 

Our  Future  Leaders 

There  are  now  25,000  Methodist  Episcopal  young  men 
and  women  enrolled  in  the  State  universities  of  the  United 
States.  About  sixty-two  per  cent  of  them  are  there  for  tech- 
nical and  advanced  courses  which  they  cannot  get  at  Meth- 
odist institutions.  Not  satisfied  with  bemoaning  the  fact  that 
many  drift  away  from  religious  interests  during  their  col- 
lege days,  the  church  now  seeks  to  hold  them  and  train  them 
for  leadership  in  the  days  to  ^ome.  This  is  done  under  a 
Joint  Committee  of  the  Board  of  Education  and  the  Board 
of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension,  which  has  worked 
out  a  policy  based  on  the  results  of  a  conference  with  all  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  workers  at  the  State  universities. 

This  policy  or  program  aims  to  adapt  the  worship  pro- 
gram to  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  students  and  encourages 
general  cooperation  with  the  local  Methodist  group.  Where 
the  religious  educational  needs  are  not  adequately  met,  it 
supplements  what  is  furnished  in  the  regular  curriculum  of 
the  university  with  study  courses,  lectures,  etc.  This  is 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  to  them  the  fundamentals  of  the 
Christian  religion,  a  workable  and  intellectual  knowledge 
of  the  Bible,  and  the  answer  to  the  many  questions  which 
naturally  come  to  the  growing  intellect  under  the  stimulus 
of  modem  science  and  literature.  The  recreation  and  social 
life  of  the  students  are  given  opportunity  for  satisfaction 
under  conditions  where  the  atmosphere  is  wholesome  and 
elevating.    The  future  Christian  usefulness  of  the  students 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  POWER  PLANTS  157 

is  developed  by  acquainting  them  with  the  opportunities  for 
service  in  the  church.  They  are  made  familiar  with  the 
problems  which  belong  to  modern  Christian  efficiency.  The 
methods  which  succeed  are  made  their  personal  possession. 
This  training  is  not  by  theory  teaching  alone.  They  are 
given  actual  tasks  of  Christian  service  which  they  perform 
under  competent  supervision. 


(before  the  war) 

69  STATE  INSTITUTIONS  126,000  STUDENTS 

25000  METHODIST   STUDENTS 
42  INSTITUTIONS  HAVE   METHODIST   WORK 

OF  SOME  KIND 

^i^'— •• 


WHERE  LEADERS  FOR  CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  MAY  BE  TRAINED 


A  Christian  democracy  power  plant  suitable  to  the 
needs  of  college  students  is  necessary  for  the  carrying  out 
of  such  a  program.  The  local  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
is  often  too  small  and  too  ill-planned  for  campus  Methodism. 
The  Methodist  student  building  should  be  large  enough  to 
accommodate  the  entire  body  of  Methodist  students  now  in 
the  university  and  have  room  left  for  future  increase.  The 
opportunity  to  speed  up  the  spread  of  Christian  democracy 
through  these  young  men  and  women  who  in  a  few  years 
will  be  the  leaders  in  the  life  of  the  nation  is  beyond  ap- 


158    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

praisal.    For  they  will  be  the  molders  of  the  thought  of  the 
people  for  the  next  generation. 

But  leadership  to  train  them  is  needed  as  much  as  ade- 
quate buildings.  Only  the  strongest  of  personalities  succeed 
with  this  sort  of  a  parish.  The  very  best  educated  men  in 
the  church  must  give  themselves  to  this  important  task.  Up 
to  the  present  it  has  been  necessary  to  select  men  with  native 
ability  and  train  them  while  in  service.  But  the  demand 
is  growing  faster  than  this  can  be  done.  Men  ready  to  take 
up  the  work  on  an  eflBcient  plane  are  called  for  immediately. 
A  training  which  demands  the  very  best  of  those  already' 
equipped  for  the  regular  ministry  must  be  inaugurated.  The 
Board  of  Education  is  ready  to  take  up  the  larger  task  of 
training  men  as  it  has  the  supervision  and  support  of  the 
''student  pastors"  already  rendering  service.  But  where 
are  the  men  to  train  for  this  exceptional  ministry?  Where 
is  the  money  to  put  into  the  future  leadership  of  the  land? 
Shall  we  pray  for  Christian  democracy  and  fail  to  invest  in 
one  of  the  greatest  opportunities  for  spreading  its  ideals 
broadcast  in  the  lives  of  educated  men  and  women? 

-  There  has  been  no  time  when  this  work  has  been  so 
much  needed  as  now.  It  is  important  that  the  influences 
which  tend  toward  better  citizenship  be  exercised  to  the  ut- 
most rather  than  obscured  by  the  surface  issues  of  the  war. 
Trained  men  and  women  will  be  needed  in  great  numbers  as 
soon  as  the  war  is  over.  The  same  care  which  has  been 
exercised  in  surrounding  our  soldiers  and  sailors  with  a 
moral  and  religious  environment  must  be  given  to  student 
life.  Unless  we  conserve  the  moral,  religious,  and  educa- 
tional advantages  gained  at  home  in  times  of  peace  we  shall 
fail  in  the  proper  conduct  of  the  war  program.  It  means 
better  soldiers,  better  citizens,  better  men.  The  morals  of 
the  nation  depends  on  the  vision  for  Christian  service  which 
university  students  carry  with  them  into  their  varied  fields 
of  life  endeavor. 

The  Wesley  Foundation  at  the  University  of  Illinois, 
Urbana,  Illinois,  is  an  illustration  of  the  possibilities  of  this 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  POWER  PLANTS  159 

student  work.  The  work  done  for  students  by  Trinity  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  has  outgrown  the  church  plant.  A 
new  equipment  is  needed  to  enable  Methodism  to  m.easure  up 
to  its  duty  in  this  great  training  camp  for  the  developing  of 
experts  in  engineering,  agriculture,  law,  medicine,  and  the 
other  walks  of  life.  The  virile,  gripping,  spiritual  faith 
needed  in  an  age  of  eager  quest  for  knowledge  and  power 
must  be  a  part  of  the  training.  To  meet  this  need  a  $500,- 
000  fund  is  being  raised  for  the  erection  of  a  church  building, 
a  Social  Center  Building,  and  the  beginning  of  an  endow- 
ment fund.  Toward  this  amount  the  Board  of  Home  Mis- 
sions and  Church  Extension  has  given  $10,000.  And  as  fast 
as  funds  are  available  the  Board  will  help  to  establish  Chris- 
tian democracy  power  plants  on  the  campus  of  every  one  of 
our  State  universities  and  Agricultural  colleges. 

The  Lakger  Demands 

The  increasing  responsibility  of  the  church  in  the  city 
has  made  a  new  and  larger  demand  upon  church  extension 
than  was  thought  possible  of  meeting  years  ago.  A  few 
hundred  dollars'  help  will  not  meet  the  situation  among  the 
congested  centers  of  population.  Help  must  be  given  by  the 
thousands ;  and  it  is  being  given.  When  the  General  Com- 
mittee of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Exten- 
sion which  met  in  Oakland,  California,  in  1915,  recognized 
the  necessity  of  equipping  city  Christian  democracy  plants 
for  the  doing  of  a  real  ministry,  the  beginning  of  the  Op- 
portunity Fund  was  assured.  This  fund,  to  be  used  in  mak- 
ing large  church  extension  gifts,  is  made  up  from  the  in- 
creases in  the  collections  from  the  churches  and  undesig- 
nated bequests.  The  granting  of  help  from  this  source  is 
conditioned  upon  the  local  people  raising  at  least  three 
dollars  for  every  dollar  given  to  it  by  the  Board. 

Old  Broadway  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Cleveland, 
was  the  first  beneficiary  under  the  plan.  This  church,  located 
in  the  center  of  the  Slavic  population  of  the  city,  ministers  to 


160    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

Bohemians.  It  had  a  church  building  entirely  inadequate 
for  the  ministry  demanded  of  it.  A  new  edifice  of  such  type 
as  would  command  the  respect  of  the  people  whom  it 
sought  to  reach  was  needed.  On  condition  that  the  local 
church  raise  $165,000  for  their  enterprise  $35,000  was  given 
to  them  from  the  Opportunity  Fund.  The  Church  of  All 
Nations  of  the  Morgan  Memorial  Church,  Boston,  came 
next.  Here,  as  a  part  of  a  multiform  ministry  in  the  con- 
gested city,  a  building  was  to  be  erected  from  which  a  min- 
istry to  people  of  all  races  should  go  forth.  It  would  like- 
wise house  the  New  England  School  for  the  Training  of  a 
Foreign-Speaking  Leadership.  Toward  the  building  of 
this  enterprise  for  democracy  the  Board  granted  a  gift  of 
$25,000,  to  be  added  to  the  $155,000  to  be  raised  locally. 
Chicago  Methodism  was  also  aided  in  this  way.  The  sum  of 
$25,000  was  granted  on  condition  that  $500,000  be  raised 

.  locally.  This  was  made  available  when  $250,000  was  raised, 
on  condition  that  $100,000  of  the  total  become  a  part  of  a 
permanent  endowment,  the  income  to  be  used  in  city  mission 
work.  The  remainder  was  for  the  purpose  of  readjusting 
and  developing  downtown  Methodism  in  Chicago.  And  this 
is  but  the  beginning. 

Methodist  Episcopal  work  at  three  State  universities 
was  also  helped  this  first  year  of  the  Opportunity  Fund. 
The  Wesley  Foundation  at  the  University  of  Illinois  re- 
ceived $10,000  on  condition  that  $100,000  be  raised  in  addi- 
tion to  the  amount  already  in  hand.  The  Interconference 
Commission  of  Iowa  received  $10,000  for  the  work  at  Ames, 
Iowa,  and  the  University  of  Iowa  on  the  condition  that 
$50,000  be  raised  locally.  And  the  same  amount  and  condi- 
tions were  the  response  to  the  application  from  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  college  church  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin. 
When  all  the  conditions  were  met,  it  meant  that  $800,000 
were  invested  in  Christian  democracy  power  plants  through 
the  stimulus  of  the  gifts  from  the  Opportunity  Fund.  Busi- 
ness done  on  a  large  scale  for  the  Kingdom  brings  large  re- 

*    suits  as  it  does  elsewhere. 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  POWER  PLANTS  161 

"We're  Building  Two  a  Day" 

This  was  the  optimistic  response  of  Chaplain  Charles  C. 
McCabe  to  the  challenge  of  Robert  Ingersoll.  And  it  is  more 
than  the  happy  exuberance  of  a  man  utterly  convinced  of  the 
ministry  of  filling  the  land  with  churches.  The  17,000  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  churches  helped  with  church  extension 
money  make  a  practical  exhibit  of  no  mean  size.  Placed  side 
by  side,  with  an  average  frontage  of  thirty  feet,  these 
churches  would  stretch  out  for  a  hundred  miles.  Riding 
twenty  miles  an  hour  it  would  take  an  automobile  sightsee- 
ing party  five  hours  to  view  them  all.  And  as  for  seating 
capacity !  If  this  averaged  one  hundred  and  fifty  a  church, 
the  entire  population  of  Baltimore,  Washington,  and  Phil- 
adelphia could  be  seated  and  the  *'Amen"  corners  still  be 
left  for  late  comers. 

Who  can  estimate  what  this  has  meant  for  Christian 
democracy  in  America?  The  lives  that  have  been  trans- 
formed, the  communities  that  have  been  remade,  the  influ- 
ences that  have  gone  forth  in  every  direction,  cannot  be 
listed  in  columns  of  statistics.  It  is  a  part  of  the  life  of  the 
nation.  It  is  written  in  every  adventure  which  has  advanced 
the  United  States  along  its  path  of  democratic  leadership. 
It  has  been  one  of  the  effective  forces  which  have  put  content 
and  assurance  into  the  song  of  Christian  democracy.  It  lives 
forever  in  the  words  taught  us  in  childhood  and  sung  with 
newer  meaning  as  the  years  increase, 

"Our  Fathers'  God,  to  thee. 
Author  of  liberty. 

To  thee  we  sing; 
Long  may  our  land  be  bright 
With  freedom's  holy  light; 
Protect  us  by  thy  might, 

Great  God,  our  King." 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  What  is  the  function  of  a  Christian  democracy 
power  plant? 


162    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

2.  How  does  the  church  in  one  community  help  the 
church  in  another  community  to  erect  its  church  building? 

3.  Discuss  the  history  of  Church  Extension  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

4.  In  what  sections  of  the  country  has  this  work  been 
done? 

5.  In  what  sense  is  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  a 
banker  for  the  Kingdom? 

6.  Discuss  the  method  of  securing  a  donation  for 
church  extension  purposes. 

7.  How  may  money  be  borrowed  for  church  building 
purposes? 

8.  Discuss  the  romance  underlying  these  purely  busi- 
ness transactions.  What  local  color  can  you  add  to  the 
story? 

9.  In  what  different  ways  is  the  Memorial  Church  a 
blessing?    Illustrate. 

10.  How  does  the  Bureau  of  Architecture  help  to  ad- 
vance the  cause  of  Christian  democracy? 

11.  What  is  being  done  to  train  future  Methodist 
leaders  at  State  Universities?  Why  is  the  same  type  of 
work  not  needed  at  Methodist  institutions  of  learning? 

12.  Discuss  the  possibilities  of  the  ministry  of  the 
Opportunity  Fund. 

13.  What  does  the  fact  that  the  church  extension  funds 
of  the  church  have  aided  in  building  17,000  Methodist  Epis- 
copal churches  mean  to  you? 

14.  Why  is  a  church  building  essential  to  the  teaching 
of  Christian  democracy? 


It  is  always  interesting  to  know  what  the  neighbors  have  in  their 
backyards.  Our  so-called  modern  frontier  has  a  number  of  things  that 
look  interesting  from  the  other  side  of  the  wall,  but  which  are  decided 
problems  in  ttio  backyard  itself.  The  Chinese  and  the  Japanese  on  the 
Pacific  Coa^i  are  possible  evangelists  to  their  fellow  countrymen  in 
Asia  if  the  economic,  social,  and  political  problems  involved  in  their 
presence  in  the  United  States  can  be  worked  out  in  a  Christian  way. , 
This  statement  is  easily  demonstrable  by  the  number  of  native  preachers 
in  Japan  and  China  who  were  converted  in  Pacific  Coast  missions  of 
the  evangelical  church.  Spanish-Americans,  two  million  strong,  are 
in  Colorado,  Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  California.  They  are 
found  in  the  sugar  beet  fields  of  California,  in  the  copper  mines  of 
Arizona,  and  as  section  men  and  sheepherders  in  the  States  farther 
north.  Dealing  with  their  manner  of  thought  and  habits  of  life  is  a 
problem  as  great  as  one  wants  to  tackle.  In  addition  large  numbers  of 
them  are  found  in  Porto  Rico.  One  of  the  most  difficult  and  perplexing 
problems  in  the  home  mission  field  is  Mormonism,  which  has  an  exten- 
sive missionary  propaganda  of  its  own.  Had  Protestant  home  missions 
been  well  organized  and  liberally  supported  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  in 
1830,  this  problem  would  not  have  arisen.  The  root  of  the  trouble  here 
is  theological  and  it  must  be  solved  by  the  church  and  not  by  politicians. 
Then  there  are  the  Indians,  of  whom  there  are  three  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand,  only  one  half  of  whom  are  affiliated  with  any  church.  There 
is  certainly  enough  problem  material  to  make  it  worth  while  getting 
down  on  the  other  side  of  the  wall  and  taking  a  hand. — B.  W.  K.,  in 
The  Transformation. 

So  we  have  the  three  outer  possessions  of  the  church's  domestic 
missions.  Porto  Rico,  full  of  its  love  and  devotion  to  America,  may 
be  likened  to  a  warm  and  glowing  ruby.  Hawaii,  full  of  the  possibilities 
for  future  Christian  living,  is  its  pearl  of  the  sea.  But  Alaska,  with 
treasures  buried  deep,  and  yielding  the  best  to  those  that  seek,  is  its 
diamond  in  the  rough. — Ralph  Welles  Keeler  and  Ellen  Goughlin 
Keeler,  in  The  Christian  Conquest  of  America. 


AN  ALASKAN  FAMILY  A  DAUGHTER  OF  HAWAII 

THE  WATER  WAGON  IN  PORTO  RICO 


CHAPTEE  VII 

VARIANTS  OF  THE  TASK 

It  is  easier  to  grasp  the  theory  of  Christian  democracy 
than  it  is  to  establish  its  practical  operation.  This  is  due  to 
the  varying  types  of  people  who  must  be  taught  to  accept  its 
principles  as  a  basis  of  daily  living.  They  are  in  some  cases 
shut  off  from  its  benefits  by  barriers  of  race,  religious  train- 
ing and  customs  which  have  been  inherited  for  generations. 
Others  are  a  part  of  a  definite  antagonism  to  Christian  de- 
mocracy itself.  These  variants  of  the  task  of  making  Chris- 
tian democracy  nation-wide  increase  the  urgency  for  a  thor- 
oughly equipped  forward  movement  on  the  part  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  must  be  wide-awake  to  the  pe- 
culiar sort  of  ministry  that  is  necessary  for  the  planting  of 
the  ideas  which  will  bear  fruit  in  such  development  of  mind 
and  heart.  It  must  be  of  such  character  as  to  assure  ac- 
ceptance of  the  world  challenge  for  a  democracy  safe  for  all 
peoples  everywhere. 

The  Moemons 

The  Mormon  Church,  or  so-called  **  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints, ' '  has  been  a  thorn  in  the  flesh 
of  American  democracy  for  many  years.  Accepting  only 
its  own  interpretation  of  the  theory  of  life  and  government, 
it  has  thrived  in  that  part  of  the  country  where  everything 
has  been  in  the  process  of  development,  and  where  the 
Christian  Church  was  not  awake  to  the  insidiousness  of  what 
it  was  permitting  to  grow.  True,  450,000  members  is  not  a 
large  following.  Its  progress  since  its  start  in  1830  has  not 
been  rapid.  But  when  we  take  into  account  the  fact  that  its 
propaganda  is  of  the  sort  that  keeps  sex-consciousness 
uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  its  influence  is  incal- 

165 


166    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

culable.  The  distribution  of  the  membership  of  the  Mormon 
Church  is  significant.  It  has  never  been  able  to  get  a  foot- 
hold in  the  Eastern  States.  Utah,  its  center  and  great 
stronghold,  boasts  of  293,000  members.  Idaho  comes  next 
with  78,000.  Arizona  and  Wyoming  have  15,000  each,  while 
there  are  not  more  than  5,000  in  any  other  individual  State ; 
10,000  a  year  is  about  the  average  rate  of  increase. 

GROWTH  OF   MORMONISM 

The  chief  growth  of  Mormonism  after  reaching  Utah, 
for  many  years  was  among  the  immigrants  from  Great  Bri- 
tain and  Scandinavia.  Nearly  one  fourth  of  the  present 
population  of  Utah  was  born  in  these  two  countries.  The 
success  of  the  Mormon  propaganda  among  these  people  was 
due,  first,  to  the  concealment  of  the  non-Christian  aspects  of 
Mormonism;  and,  second,  to  the  promise  of  material  suc- 
cess, such  as  securing  better  wages,  or  obtaining  free  farms. 
In  recent  years  these  two  factors  no  longer  operate  to  the 
same  extent,  and  Mormon  propaganda  is  not  so  successful. 
As  a  rule.  Mormon  converts  are  not  now  to  be  taken  to  Utah, 
but  are  expected  to  remain  where  they  are.  Thus  Mormon- 
ism seeks  to  take  its  place  as  a  world-wide  and  not  a  localized 
religion.  At  the  present  time  a  temple  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  feet  square  is  being  built  at  Cardston,  Alberta,  for 
the  use  of  the  Canadian  Mormons,  and  another  seventy-eight 
feet  square  is  being  constructed  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  for 
the  twenty-two  thousand  Mormons  who  live  there  and  in 
New  Zealand  and  the  South  Sea  Islands.  Doubtless  later 
other  temples  will  be  erected  in  Europe.  Mormon  liouses  of 
worship  have  been  built  in  a  number  of  American  cities  and 
a  beautiful  structure  for  this  purpose  is  now  being  erected  in 
Brooklyn,  New  York. 

POLYGAMY 

Polygamy  has  been  the  outstanding  curse  of  this  cult  of 
the  West.  Probably  more  people  know  of  Mormonism 
through  hearing  of  men  with  several  homes,  several  wives, 


VAEIANTS  OF  THE  TASK  167 

and  several  sets  of  children  than  through  any  other  item  of 
the  Mormon  faith.  It  has  been  the  issue  around  which 
battles  for  democracy  and  Christianity  have  raged  for  years. 
The  pressure  against  polygamy  became  most  acute  in  the 
early  nineties.  Up  to  that  time  the  Mormons  questioned  the 
power  of  the  United  States  government  to  enforce  its  own 
laws.  In  1890,  however,  a  new  light  dawned  upon  the 
Mormon  leaders,  and  Wilford  Woodruff,  president  of  the 
Mormon  Church,  signed  a  manifesto  permitting  the  discon- 
tinuance of  the  practice  of  multiple  marriages.  This  gave 
them  a  breathing  spell  from  the  persecution  directed  against 
them.  Six  years  later  Utah  was  admitted  to  the  Union  as  a 
State.  Was  the  manifesto  bona  fide?  It  seems  not  to  have 
been.  Practically  all  the  then  existing  marriage  relation- 
ships have  been  maintained,  and  it  is  estimated  on  good 
authority  that  some  two  thousand  polygamous  marriages 
have  been  consummated  since  the  manifesto  was  issued.  But 
polygamy  is  doomed.  What  Christian  propaganda  has 
failed  to  accomplish  the  forces  of  economic  and  social 
evolution  are  bringing  to  pass.  Polygamy  belongs  to  the 
patriarchal  period  of  human  development.  It  has  no  part  in 
an  age  of  commercial  and  manufacturing  activity.  The 
influence  of  Christian  culture  has  had  a  part  in  emphasizing 
this  fact.  So  too  has  the  rise  of  feminist  doctrines.  The 
fact  that  woman  is  now  recognized  as  an  individual  suffi- 
cient unto  herself  is  the  very  antithesis  of  the  whole  theory 
and  teaching  of  Mormon  theology.  There  is  little  reason  to 
believe  that  polygamy  is  a  force  to  be  reckoned  with  prac- 
tically in  the  United  States  in  the  future.  But  how  soon  the 
deeply  embodied  theological  basis  for  polygamy  may  be 
eliminated  from  Mormon  thinking  by  the  pressure  of  evan- 
gelical effort  and  public  opinion  it  is  difficult  to  prophesy. 

EVANGELIZATION   SLOW 

It  is  always  hard  to  win  against  counter-propaganda. 
The  evangelical  church  has  missionaries  to  the  Mormons  in 
Utah  and  the  Mormon  Church  missionaries  to  the  Christians 


168    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

in  Boston.  The  1,400  Mormon  missionaries  who  are  con- 
stantly in  the  field  give  two  years  of  free  service,  their  ex- 
penses being  paid  by  themselves  or  relatives.  The  work  of 
the  evangelical  church  as  represented  by  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  receives  its  support  from  the  church  at 
large,  and  expands  or  contracts  as  available  funds  permit 
or  necessitate.  In  Utah,  for  instance,  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  has  twenty  charges,  only  two  of  which  are  self- 
supporting.  And  after  all  the  years  the  membership  is  only 
1,712.  One  of  the  chief  reasons,  however,  for  the  slow 
growth  of  the  evangelical  church  in  Utah  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  majority  of  the  non-Mormons  going,  there  are  not 
connected  with  any  church,  are  indifferent  to  religion,  and  in 
too  many  cases  indifferent  to  morality.  The  minority  who 
are  church  members  and  exemplify  the  virtues  of  evangel- 
ical faith  have  not  been  sufficiently  numerous  to  give  a  cor- 
rect impression  to  the  Mormons  of  what  the  Christian 
Church  really  is.  Here  is  where  the  appeal  comes  strong. 
A  well-supported,  thoroughgoing  advance,  equipped  with 
creditable  property  and  a  well-prepared  j^ersonnel  sent  forth 
by  all  of  the  Home  Mission  Boards,  would  do  the  task  much 
better  than  the  much  speechmaking  and  woeful  presenta- 
tions which  are  so  common.  Utah  is  '*a  foreign  missionary 
field  at  home"  and  must  be  approached  in  the  same  attitude 
as  that  taken  by  Christian  missionaries  in  other  lands 
toward  religions  which  we  consider  inadequate. 

SOME  RESULTS  ATTAINED 

Tardiness,  rather  than  failure,  is  the  word  to  apply  to 
the  evangelical  church  with  reference  to  its  attempts  to 
Christianize  Mormonism.  The  gradual  results  have  been 
hopeful,  even  though  not  resulting  in  positive  conversions. 
The  results  of  the  evangelical  missionary  work  in  Utah  thus 
far  have  been  largely  the  modification  of  Mormon  principles 
and  practice  in  certain  important  points  rather  than  in  the 
conversion  of  individual  Mormons  to  evangelical  faith.  The 
changed  attitude  of  the  Mormon  Church  toward  education, 


VARIANTS  OF  THE  TASK  169 

toward  the  United  States  government,  toward  the  Bible,  and 
toward  Christian  doctrine  has  been  due  largely  to  the  efforts 
of  evangelical  missionaries.  With  the  changed  attitude 
toward  these  things  there  has  come  in  each  instance  a  change 
for  the  better  in  Mormon  teaching.  As  in  foreign  lands, 
many  of  the  people  have  lost  their  faith  in  their  former  reli- 
gion through  the  influence  of  this  same  Christian  teaching, 
but  they  have  not  accepted  evangelical  Christianity.  They 
remain  nominal  members  of  their  church,  while  in  reality 
they  are  agnostics,  or  atheists.  Because  of  the  social,  com- 
mercial, and  political  power  of  the  Mormon  Church  in  Utah 
they  do  not  change  their  technical  relationship  to  the  church, 
but  they  have  little  or  nothing  to  do  with  it.  They  occupy  a 
'*No  Man's  Land"  where  democracy  makes  no  appeal  to 
them  one  way  or  another.  Their  children,  however,  are  open 
to  the  appeal  of  evangelical  Christianity.  These  young  peo- 
ple are  like  the  young  people  of  any  other  part  of  the  coun- 
try. They  have  imbibed  some  of  the  spirit  of  the  age.  They 
are  alert  to  the  broader  opportunities  of  which  they  read  and 
hear.  The  broadened  outlook  which  they  receive  when  they 
go  into  the  world  on  missionary  ventures  has  more  effect 
upon  them  than  does  their  propaganda  upon  the  people 
whom  they  visit. 

A  PROBLEM  FOR  DEMOCRACY 

Mormonism  is  a  real  problem  for  democracy.  It  can- 
not sing  the  songs  of  the  people  of  the  land  with  the  same 
spirit  and  enthusiasm  that  characterizes  the  newly  citizened 
immigrant  of  the  lower  East  Side  in  New  York  city.  The 
strong  utterances  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  do 
not  receive  the  same  unquestioned  response  from  the  leaders 
of  this  church.  They  are  on  the  defensive  when  it  eomes  to 
the  great  idea  which  is  dominating  the  thought  of  all  peo- 
ples everywhere  to-day.  Practical  Christianity  alone  will 
break  down  the  remaining  barriers.  By  the  use  of  states- 
manlike vision  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  can  render  service 
in  this  section  of  the  church's  remaining  frontier  that  will 


170    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

count  for  all  time,  for  the  dislodgment  of  prevailing  ideas  by 
the  planting  of  Christian  ideals  will  here  set  a  half  a  mil- 
lion American  citizens  well  on  the  road  to  that  democracy 
for  which  many  of  their  sons  are  fighting  to  make  the  world 
safe. 

The  American  Indian 

Who  has  thought  of  democracy  for  the  American  In- 
dian? The  manner  in  which  his  land  was  schemed  for  and 
stolen  away  from  him  surely  did  not  give  him  any  high  ideal 
of  the  Christianity  which  actuated  the  despoilers  of  his  hunt- 
ing grounds.  That  he  struck  back,  and  in  a  way  cruel  and 
barbarous,  does  not  justify  the  method  used  in  separating 
him  from  his  possessions.  Nor  has  the  placing  him  on 
reservations  added  any  to  the  record  of  our  nation  in  dealing 
with  these  people.  To-day  the  Indians  are  raising  their 
war  whoop  in  the  trenches  in  the  fight  for  the  very  principles 
which  were  withheld  in  dealing  with  them.  That  the  first 
Methodist  Episcopal  missionaries  were  sent  to  the  Indian 
is  an  interesting  fact  historically.  That  the  church  did  not 
follow  up  this  work  in  a  Christian  statesmanlike  way  is  de- 
plorable. 

INCREASING  IN  NUMBERS 

The  Indian  has  furnished  more  than  one  essayist  and 
public  speaker  with  material  on  "The  Vanishing  Race  of 
Redmen."  But  he  has  not  vanished.  Undemocratic  and 
unchristian  treatment  has  had  the  opposite  effect.  To-day 
the  Indians  are  increasing.  Scattered  over  the  country  are 
over  350,000  of  them.  What  an  opportunity  for  Christian 
democracy!  The  70,000  children  who  are  under  ten  years 
of  age  will  have  incalculable  influence  on  the  next  gen- 
eration. The  church  has  done  something  for  the  Indian,  but 
not  all  that  it  should.  Some  90,000  over  ten  years  of  age 
are  adherents  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  while  60,000 
are  members  of  the  evangelical  churches.  Of  the  130,000 
who  are  not  identified  with  any  church,  60,000  are  in  tribes 


VARIANTS  OF  THE  TASK 


171 


where  there  is  no  opportunity  to  learn  of  Jesus  Christ  from 
either  Protestants  or  Roman  Catholics. 


1917  Report 

Mernbers    Probationers  Scholars  Paslors  Property  Support  Benevcbncts 
SHWISH      1.^20  554       2,615       20  $l45t00of^64~       ^884 

INDIAN         600  596        12       19,700 


CHINESE      344 

45 

546 

7 

17^000 

2,644 

812 

JAPANESE;  1,227 

522 

848 

20 

160,000 

9497 

1.983 

UTAH         1,704 

119 

3200 

16 

230000 

13000 

:^966 

FRONTIER  VARIANTS  OF  THE  TASK 


CONDITIONS  VARY 


The  condition  of  life  of  the  Indian  varies.  Location  and 
the  property  he  may  have  had  are  the  chief  factors  of  differ- 
ence. Sometimes  he  is  very  poor,  while  again  there  are  large 
amounts  of  money  to  his  credit  invested  by  the  govern- 


172    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

ment  at  Washington.  Which  of  these  classes  is  most  diffi- 
cult to  reach?  It  is  not  easy  to  determine.  The  possession 
of  wealth  is  not  unmixed  blessing.  It  has  a  tendency  to 
pauperize.  It  curtails  the  development  of  industry.  More- 
over, the  government  treats  the  Indians  too  much  as  wards, 
not  recognizing  their  fitness  for  citizenship  when  that  fitness 
exists. 

THE  ROAD  TO  DEMOCRACY 

One  of  the  great  hopes  for  firing  the  Indian  with  the 
modern  dreams  of  democracy  lies  in  the  public  school  or 
reservation  day  school.  The  children  are  gradually  re- 
ceiving this  opportunity.  This  brings  them  in  close  contact 
with  all  the  other  elements  of  the  population.  It  prepares 
them  for  the  future  responsibilities  of  citizenship.  It  in- 
spires them  with  the  hope  of  having  a  part  in  the  future 
greatness  of  the  land  which  once  was  the  sole  possession  of 
their  fathers.  College  training  is  also  having  its  influence. 
The  evolution  from  the  days  of  paint  and  feathers  and  the 
red  trail  of  the  massacre  to  educated  men  and  women  who 
are  a  surety  of  what  the  years  may  bring  for  all  has  been 
more  rapid  than  we  realize;  78,000  Indians  are  already 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  instead  of  following  the 
hunt  they  are  cultivating  nearly  700,000  acres  of  land. 

WHEN    THE    CHURCH    AWAKENS 

What  a  day  it  will  be  when  the  people  from  whom  this 
great  land  was  taken  come  into  their  own !  And  how  differ- 
ent will  be  their  estate  than  was  their  fathers!  Already  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  common  with  other  denom- 
inations, is  at  work  on  the  task  of  bringing  that  day  to  pass. 
What  if  the  church  should  suddenly  awake  to  the  possibility 
of  hastening  somewhat  in  this  respect,  and  take  on  its  full 
share  of  this  most  fruitful  venture!  The  tribes  which  at 
present  receive  the  ministry  of  the  Christian  Church  through 
Methodist  Episcopal  agencies  are  the  Oneida,  Onondaga, 
Ottawa,  Saint  Regis,  Seneca,  Mohawk,  Chippewa,  Black- 


VARIANTS  OF  THE  TASK  173 

feet,  Klamath,  Lake  Modoc,  Nooksak,  Paiute,  Porno,  Pot- 
awatomi,  Siletz,  Shoshoni,  Waslio,  Yukaia,  and  Yuma.  In 
several  of  these  tribes  the  work  is  done  by  the  Woman's 
Home  Missionary  Society.  Methodism  has  been  asked  by 
the  Home  Missions  Council  also  to  assume  responsibility  for 
the  giving  of  the  gospel  to  some  15,000  Indians  scattered  in 
small  tribes  in  California.  Wliile  it  is  encouraging  to  read 
the  list  of  tribes  just  given,  in  general  it  must  be  said  that 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  not  yet  assumed  its  fair 
share  of  the  task  of  supplanting  the  heritage  of  the  wigwam 
with  the  Christian  home. 

The  Latin- American 

One  soon  awakens  to  a  sense  of  provincialism  when  tak- 
ing a  trip  through  Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Colorado, 
and  California.  And  it  is  not  the  scenery  alone  that  stirs. 
It  is  the  sudden  recognition  of  the  fact  that  our  great  South- 
west is  peopled  with  nearly  1,500,000  folks  who  speak  Span- 
ish and  live  the  customs  of  centuries  ago.  Probably  750,000 
of  them  were  born  in  this  country.  They  possess  American' 
citizenship  and  are  proud  of  it.  But  they  are  poorly  edu- 
cated and  do  not  speak  the  language  of  the  nation  of  which 
they  are  a  part.  Their  ideas  of  democracy  are  translated 
through  a  language  which  has  not  a  democratic  flavor. 
Their  religious  views  are  all  tinctured  with  the  Roman  Ca- 
tholicism of  centuries  ago.  These  people  were  well  repre- 
sented in  the  Civil  War  and  thousands  of  them  are  in  the 
trenches  in  France  to-day,  fighting  to  make  the  world  safe 
for  our  democracy.  And  we  have  not  taken  the  trouble  to 
give  them  our  language  in  order  that  they  may  interpret  our 
ideals  as  we  do.  The  fathers  of  many  of  these  men  were  in 
this  country  when  the  United  States  took  the  territory  from 
Mexico  in  1848.  Others  were  in  Texas  when  that  State 
seceded  from  Mexico. 

THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  WISE 

How  shall  the  ideals  which  we  prize  be  given  to  these 


174    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

people?  And  to  the  million  who  have  come  swarming  over 
the  border  as  refugees  during  the  more  recent  days?  Cer- 
tainly the  church  cannot  deliver  a  message  that  will  be  lis- 
tened to  when  it  sets  up  halls  and  shacks  in  disreputable  and 
inconvenient  sections  of  the  community  as  mission  centers. 
Anarchists  are  pushing  their  propaganda  among  them. 
Socialists  are  diligently  spreading  their  doctrines.  And 
these  use  the  poverty  of  the  Spanish- Americans  as  a  point 
of  contact.  They  bring  their  message  in  terms  of  the  peo- 
ple's illiteracy.  They  recognize  the  seasonal  shifting  of  the 
population  and  follow  it.  Much  is  made  of  existing  antip- 
athy to  American  life  and  citizenship.  The  prevailing 
blind  atheism  or  ignorant  loyalty  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  is  seized  upon.  In  New  Mexico  alone  does  such 
propaganda  fail,  for  here  is  found  a  love  for  American  cit- 
izenship. 

A    CHRISTIAN    DEMOCRACY    OPPORTUNITY 

Many  of  these  who  have  come  in  the  later  immigration, 
refugees  from  the  troubles  in  Mexico,  are  employed  as  un- 
skilled labor.  There  is  great  demand  for  them  as  sheep- 
herders.  They  make  good  section  hands  on  the  railroads. 
The  copper  mines  welcome  them ;  and  a  goodly  number  toil 
in  the  beet  and  cotton  fields.  They  have  no  trouble  with  the 
climate.  Some  have  gone  as  far  north  as  Idaho  and  Iowa. 
Others  have  gone  as  far  east  as  Philadelphia  and  New  York. 
Education  and  evangelization  must  grasp  hands  in  the  task 
with  these  folks.  They  are  not  likely  to  leave  us.  They  must 
be  made  like  us.  The  Portuguese,  likewise  Latin- Americans, 
must  be  ministered  to  in  the  same  way  as  are  the  Mexicans. 
They  do  not  become  a  i)art  of  the  community  into  which  they 
come,  but  drive  out  the  other  groups.  In  California  they  are 
displacing  the  American  population  in  great  valley  and 
ranch  sections.  More  work  like  that  being  done  by  the 
Spanish- American  Institute  at  Gardena,  California;  Albu- 
querque College,  Albuquerque,  New  Mexico ;  and  the  schools 
for  girls  at  Tucson,  Arizona;  Albuquerque,  New  Mexico; 


VARIANTS  OF  THE  TASK  175 

and  Los  Angeles  will  advance  the  dawn  of  a  new  day  for 
these  people,  for  they  must  have  a  leadership  from  among 
their  own  people,  who  know  their  ways  and  habits  of  thought. 

A  NEW  TYPE  OF  CHUECH 

Churches  must  also  be  provided  of  the  character  of  the 
Plaza  Community  Church  for  Latin-Americans  at  Los 
Angeles,  California,  This  church,  modeled  after  the  Morgan 
Memorial  Church,  Boston,  has  all  of  its  excellent  institu- 
tional features  and  in  addition  those  peculiar  things  essen- 
tial to  securing  contact  with  the  Latin- American  mind  and 
needs.  It  looks  like  an  uphill  process  to  lead  unpoetic  Don 
Juans  into  the  fullness  of  the  aims  of  Christian  democracy. 
Apparently  all  that  they  have  left  of  their  picturesque  her- 
itage are  the  superstition,  the  vices,  the  language,  the  igno- 
rance, the  immorality,  and  the  religious  beliefs  of  the  Spain 
of  Philip  the  Second.  But  it  is  this  fact  which  gives  zest 
to  the  enterprise.  ''New  ways  for  old"  is  the  motif  of 
democracy's  song.  And  Christianity  adds,  "and  a  life  that 
knows  God."  What  a  chance  to  prove  the  song  by  training 
these  two  millions  of  people  to  sing  both  the  words  and 
music  as  an  expression  of  something  which  they  know  ex- 
perimentally ! 

The  Obiental 
a  different  problem 

The  Oriental  differs  from  every  other  comer  to  our 
shores  "in  that  the  State  has  said  that  he  is  not  welcome.  To 
the  Chinese  and  Japanese  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  dims  her 
torch.  Herein  is  a  strange  hiatus  in  America's  speech  of 
welcome  to  the  children  of  all  nations.  Of  course  there  is  a 
reason.  But  does  the  reason  harmonize  with  Christian 
democracy's  song  of  each  for  all  and  all  for  each!  Years 
ago  a  large  Chinese  immigration  set  in.  They  were  em- 
"ployed  in  building  railroads,  in  the  mines,  as  domestic 
servants,  and  as  laundrymen.  Some  even  went  into  mer- 
cantile  establishments.     Then  arose   a   cry   in   the   land. 


176    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

American  labor  unions  objected  to  the  i)resence  of  these 
men  in  American  industries.  So  strong  was  the  agitation 
that  Chinese  immigration  was  prohibited.  A  little  later  the 
Japanese  began  to  arrive.  Coming  from  a  higher  class  than 
did  the  Chinese  immigrants,  they  made  rapid  progress  in 
agriculture  and  commerce.  Again  a  cry  arose  in  the  land, 
and  from  the  same  quarter.  The  result  was  a  "gentlemen's 
agreement"  between  the  governments  of  the  United  States 
and  Japan.  Accordingly,  no  more  Japanese  laborers  are 
coming.  But  what  of  those  already  here,  caught  between 
the  welcome  and  the  withdrawing  of  democracy's  oppor- 
tunity? 

THEIR  NUMBERS 

There  are  now  about  80,000  Chinese  and  100,000  Jap- 
anese in  the  United  States.  Have  not  these  men,  women, 
and  children  a  claim  upon  the  church?  And  has  not  the 
Christian  Church  here  an  opportunity  to  inculcate  by  prac- 
tical demonstration  those  ideals  and  aims  which  the  nation 
is  anxious  to  diffuse  among  the  kindred  of  these  people  in 
their  homeland?  The  task  is  made  difficult  by  the  govern- 
mental restrictions  mentioned.  But  the  spirit  of  the  Christ 
knows  no  national  boundaries.  Moreover,  if  the  Chinese 
and  Japanese  in  the  United  States  are  convinced  of  the  prac- 
tical character  of  Christianity,  its  acceptance  will  be  made 
more  easy  in  both  China  and  Japan. 

THEIR  DISTRIBUTION 

• 

New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  a  few  other  large  Eastern 
cities  have  a  "Chinatown"  among  the  various  race  colonies 
which  make  up  their  cosmopolitan  population.*  By  far  the 
largest  number  of  the  Chinese,  however,  are  on  the  Pacific 
Coast.  The  States  of  California,  Colorado,  Washington, 
and  Oregon  claim  most  of  the  Japanese  in  this  country,  very 
few  except  the  student  and  merchant  class  having  gone 
farther  east.  The  tendency  of  both  the  Japanese  and 
Chinese  to  live  in  exclusive  colonies  makes  the  task  of  Chris- 


VAEIANTS  OF  THE  TASK  177 

tianizing  and  Americanizing  them  a  difficult  one.  The  un- 
friendliness and  suspicion  created  by  the  attitude  of  certain 
publications  and  labor  organizations  makes  the  barrier  the 
more  difficult  to  penetrate.  And  the  presence  of  a  Buddhist 
temple  in  every  large  city  on  the  Pacific  Coast  has  a  partly 
neutralizing  effect  on  every  effort  made  in  this  direction. 

HELPING  JAPAN 

The  difficulty  of  the  task  only  intensifies  the  urgency  of 
the  challenge.  For  years  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
has  realized  the  value  of  a  favorable  verdict  for  Christianity 
on  the  part  of  those  who  return  to  their  homes  in  the  Far 
East.  Many  of  the  Japanese  preachers  who  are  doing  effi- 
cient work  in  Japan  were  converted  to  Christianity  in  the 
Methodist  Japanese  Missions  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Whether 
in  their  stores  or  in  other  places  of  business,  these  people  are 
getting  a  first-hand  knowledge  of  our  ways.  Hundreds  of 
the  young  Japanese  men  and  women  are  in  domestic  service. 
On  the  ranches  and  among  the  orchards  they  are  serving 
diligently.  Is  it  worth  while  to  send  itinerant  missionaries 
to  teach  them,  as  is  done  for  their  fellows  abroad?  The  op- 
portunity in  Sunday  school  work  increases  with  the  rapidly 
increasing  birth  rate.  Here  the  processes  of  Americaniza- 
tion may  be  speeded  up  to  almost  any  desired  point. 

A  CHINESE   CHALLENGE 

When  we  give  ourselves  in  all  seriousness  to  the  estab- 
lishing of  Christian  democracy  in  the  United  States  we  will 
give  more  heed  to  the  Chinese  among  us.  The  older  men,  who 
came  to  this  country  years  ago  as  laborers,  and  who  are 
firmly  fixed  in  their  habits  of  thought,  are  not  much  con- 
cerned about  Christianity.  They  are  migratory  in  habit  and 
are  widely  scattered.  But  if  they  listen  to  the  street 
preacher  disseminate  doctrines  other  than  those  of  Chris- 
tianity, it  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that  the  gospel  message 
will  reach  them  in  this  same  manner,  as  well  as  through 
tracts.    The  Chinese  who  have  established  themselves  in  the 


178    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

centers  of  population  are  more  accessible,  especially  through 
the  children.  What  a  chance  the  family  church  has  in 
demonstrating  its  creed  among  these  little  folks  from  the 
land  of  the  Dragon  I  And  the  student  class !  When  future 
leaders  come  right  into  our  midst,  who  is  at  fault  if  they  do 
not  have  a  fair  presentation  of  the  very  principles  which  are 
the  foundation  of  our  best  national  life?  Ambitious  and 
eager  to  learn  English,  they  are  here  to-day  and  to-morrow 
they  are  directing  the  affairs  of  state  in  China.  Some  of 
them  are  unable  to  enter  the  public  schools  until  they  have 
had  a  preparatory  course  in  a  mission  school.  They  not  only 
have  to  be  taught,  they  also  must  have  lodgings.  The  Chris- 
tian Church  has  the  first  chance  to  make  its  impress  upon 
minds  desirous  of  getting  those  things  which  account  for  the 
type  of  civilization  which  has  made  America  a  household 
word  the  world  around.  In  China  there  is  a  considerable 
number  of  Christian  churches,  the  origin  of  which  can  be 
traced  to  home  missionary  work  among  the  Chinese  in  Cali- 
fornia.   Together  with  the  Hawaiian  Missions  these  Oriental 


W^'sfe 

--  j'-^j  iji 

vnf^^^.J  1  jliimLi'  'V'''  T     "ll 

^^^M^yZ^kyy/^/z/n^ " 

^-. 

^ 

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y^^mmm^ 

i 

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T  /     -^ 

(        \   ^fMM 

^  /:-  -:k 

/Ti^"  ji 

^W  ^k^i^^^^  ■ 

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— ^f^^p 

r.                            ■y'"' 

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t_             .     s. 

•  "K 

tt 

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w                  m                  11 

ALASKA— "SEWARD'S  FOLLY"  AND  OUR  OPPORTUNITY 


VARIANTS  OF  THE  TASK  179 

missions  in  the  United  States  may  be  made  to  serve  as  one 
of  the  very  best  wedges  for  the  introduction  of  Christian  de- 
mocracy into  the  Orient. 

Alaska 

The  sky  pilot  of  the  dog  sled  and  gasoline  launch  in 
far-off  Alaska  has  much  the  same  problem  as  the  home  mis- 
sionary in  New  York  or  Chicago  who  ministers  to  the  pass- 
ing throngs.  For  Alaska  is  a  land  of  transients ;  the  lure  of 
business  opportunity  is  in  the  air  and  men  move  from  the 
mining  camp  to  boom  town.  But  the  missionary  in  Alaska 
is  far  from  the  base  of  supplies.  The  people  back  home  have 
no  adequate  conception  of  either  his  task  or  his  needs,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  opportunities  which  he  is  obliged  to  pass  up 
because  of  limited  resources. 

A  EEAL  MAN^S  LAND 

* 

Ecclesiastical  statesmen  have  been  as  shortsighted  with 
reference  to  Alaska  as  those  statesmen  who  in  1867  opposed 
Secretary  Seward's  plan  to  purchase  this  territory  of  586,- 
400  square  miles  of  inexhaustible  riches.  The  fabulous  re- 
turns to  the  United  States  on  its  investment  of  $7,200,000.98 
have  long  since  convinced  those  concerned  with  the  material 
affairs  of  the  nation  that  Secretary  Seward  was  wiser  than 
his  generation  realized.  Wealth  in  agriculture,  furs,  copper, 
coal,  petroleum,  marble,  and  gold,  and  a  $20,000,000  annual 
yield  from  the  fisheries  is  now  evidence  enough  for  them. 
But  what  of  the  folks  who  are  engaged  in  these  industries  ? 
Not  all  of  them  are  Indians  or  Eskimos.  Alaska  is  a  white 
man's  country.  True,  the  population  is  scanty  and  the  towns 
are  small.  But  the  average  man  in  Alaska  is  shrewd,  dar- 
ing, and  educated.  He  is  possessed  of  the  spirit  of  a  land 
that  knows  no  discouragement.  No  ordinary ' '  sky  pilot ' '  will 
reach  him.  The  minister  must  be  a  man  of  the  North.  He 
is  obliged  to  be  a  committee  of  one  on  self-help.  After  his 
title  of  the  Rev.  John  Brown  he  must  be  able  to  add  CM., 
D.T.D.,  G.B.C.,  C.B.,  G.U.M.    All  this  dignity  is  conferred 


180    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

upon  him  as  rapidly  as  he  qualifies  as  campmaker,  dog-team 
driver,  gas-boat  ehautfeur,  cabin  builder,  and  general  utility 
man.    And  he  must  qualify,  or  his  ministry  fails. 

It  is  a  gigantic  task  to  put  up  to  a  man.  But  how  the 
elements  of  democracy  thrive  in  such  a  preacher !  What  a 
hearing  of  the  teachings  of  the  Man  of  Galilee  such  a  man 
of  Alaska  qan  secure !  He  has  the  punch  which  comes  from 
being  one  of  the  selfsame  reliant  fellows  as  those  to  whom  he 
ministers.  If  necessary,  he  can  sit  down  with  Eskimos  at 
their  annual  dance  and  eat  heartily  of  their  menu  of  strings 
of  dried  fish  served  with  seal  oil,  boiled  seal  meat,  slapjacks 
served  with  seal  oil,  frozen  berries,  hot  tea  and  doughnuts 
served  with  seal  oil.  And  he  can  preach  to  the  wanderers  of 
the  North,  college  men  from  nearly  every  big  university  in 
the  States,  in  the  language  of  both  their  heads  and  their 
hearts. 

METHODISM  REPRESENTED 

The  contribution  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to 
the  Christian  democracy  of  Alaska  is  now  being  made  at 
Nome,  Juneau,  Seward,  Fairbanks,  and  Ketchikan.  This 
work  is  financed  by  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church 
Extension.  The  work  among  the  Eskimos  is  done  by  the 
Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society.  With  Alaska  **dry" 
the  church  should  see  to  it  that  the  wild  vices  of  an  untamed 
land  are  curbed  by  the  restraining  power  of  Christian  fel- 
lowshi}).  The  next  trench  should  be  taken  for  the  kingdom 
of  God! 

Hawaii 

The  ukulele  and  the  popular  song  have  done  much  to 
give  us  our  impression  of  Hawaii.  Comfort,  ease,  and  moon- 
light nights  spent  on  the  beach  listening  to  native  music  are 
the  dominating  features.  But  underneath  this  table  d'hote 
conception  of  this  possession  at  the  crossroads  of  the  Pacific 
is  another  strain.  American  democracy  here  comes  to  close 
grips  with  the  civilization  of  the  Far  East.     Those  ideals 


VARIANTS  OF  THE  TASK 


181 


which  are  multiplied  most  rapidly  will  decide  the  dominat- 
ing influences  of  the  future.  And  the  ideals  which  are  held 
precious  on  the  mainland  can  be  multiplied  only  by  such  a 
recognition  of  the  situation  as  will  provide  for  a  force  and 
equipment  adequate  for  the  task. 

A  NEW  HAWAII 

Native  Hawaii  is  not  democracy's  problem.  The  mis- 
sionaries of  the  American  Board  (Congregational)  who 
went  there  in  1819  did  their  work  so  thoroughly  that  a  broad 


THE  HALFWAY  HOUSE  OF  THE  PACIFIC 
A  strategic  field  for  Christian  Democracy 


182    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

type  of  Anglo-Saxon  civilization  was  early  established.  But 
the  native  Hawaiians  are  disappearing,  there  being  only 
20,941  of  them  left  in  the  islands  to-day.  In  their  place  are 
found  Japanese,  Chinese,  Koreans,  Filipinos,  Portuguese, 
and  Americans.  Here  at  the  halfway  house  of  all  trans- 
Pacific  travel  will  be  worked  out  the  philosophy  of  life  and 
government  that  will  react  upon  both  the  nations  of  the  Far 
East  and  the  United  States.  Hawaii  is  '*  where  the  West 
begins"  to  the  Oriental.  Here  the  East  and  West  meet  in 
stem  reality.  It  is  America's  great  immigration  experiment 
station.  Will  the  results  be  beneficial  to  those  who  are  in  the 
process  of  the  experhnent? 


THE  JAPANESE  QUESTION 

The  Japanese  number  four  to  one  against  any  other  na- 
tionality in  Hawaii.  The  Hawaii-born  Asiatic  will  soon  hold 
the  balance  of  power.  He  cannot  be  denied  the  right  to  the 
ballot  and  will  not  tamely  submit  to  any  movement  for  his 
disfranchisement.  In  a  few  years  all  the  important  offices 
will  be  held  by  an  alien  people.  Will  American-born  Asiatics 
make  good  American  citizens?  The  answer  rests  with  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  must  not  be  left  alone  in  their 
day  of  awakening.  They  must  be  guided  in  the  hour  of  their 
prejudice.  Now  is  the  time  to  determine  whether  they  will 
look  to  Washington  or  to  Tokyo  for  direction  as  they  ap- 
proach the  ballot  box.  The  $100,000  Buddhist  temple  in 
Honolulu  and  the  thirty-five  large  schools  which  the  Bud- 
dhists have  established  throughout  the  territory  are  the 
watchman's  cry  from  the  tower.  For  here  14,000  American- 
born  Japanese  children  go  each  day  before  and  after  the 
regular  hours  of  public  school.  With  two  conceptions  of 
God,  of  home,  of  government,  of  the  relation  of  child  to  par- 
ent, and  of  men  to  women,  what  a  confusion  awaits  the  child 
as  he  grows  to  maturity  I  Which  conception  will  have  the 
stronger  hold  upon  his  thinking  and  life?  Is  Christianity  to 
prevail  in  the  type  of  democrac}^  developed! 


VARIANTS  OF  THE  TASK  183 

NOW  IS  THE  TIME 

The  Filipinos  are  more  adaptable  to  American  ways, 
while  the  Koreans  lend  themselves  readily  to  our  form 
of  church  life.  The  need  of  trained  Christian  Japanese, 
Filipino,  and  Korean  leaders  who  speak  English  is  apparent. 
The  need  of  their  being  at  their  task  to-day  is  not  so  easily 
recognized.  If  the  Hawaii  of  the  future  is  to  be  American, 
we  must  prepare  for  the  day  when  all  religious  exercises  will 
be  conducted  in  English.  The  church  should  not  demand 
less  for  the  stars  and  stripes  than  the  public  schools  demand. 

In  meeting  the  task  of  Americanizing  and  Christianizing 
these  peoples  of  the  mid-Pacific,  a  comity  arrangement  has 
been  made  whereby  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  does 
no  work  among  the  Chinese  and  the  Congregational  Church 
does  no  work  among  the  Koreans.  The  city  of  Honolulu  is 
a  joint  responsibility  among  the  Japanese  and  Filipinos. 
All  the  rest  of  the  territory  has  been  districted  and  assigned 
to  different  denominations.  Thus  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  has  a  definite  responsibility  laid  at  its  door.  Why 
wait  for  ten  years  and  then  look  about  for  some  place  to 
lay  the  blame  for  lacking  the  far  look  I  Ten  years  will  see  the 
tendency  for  the  future  of  Hawaii  settled.  What  is  done 
to-day  will  help  to  decide  what  that  future  will  be. 

PoRTO  Rico 

Porto  Rico,  an  island  consisting  of  a  series  of  hills  and 
valleys,  is  our  Spanish  possession  in  the  West  Indies.  Since 
its  discovery  by  Columbus,  November  19,  1493,  until  twenty 
years  ago  its  history  has  been  a  sad  one.  The  gradual  inter- 
mixture of  Spanish,  Indian,  and  Negro,  and  later  of  white 
people,  has  left  a  race  indolent  and  easy,  content  with  their 
poverty  and  illiteracy.  For  the  most  part  dwellers  in  rural 
communities,  the  people  live  close  to  nature  in  a  very  real 
sense,  the  need  of  much  clothing  not  being  felt,  and  shoes  not 
being  worn  by  three  fourths  of  the  million  and  a  quarter 
inhabitants. 


184    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

EVANGELICAL  TRANSFORMATION 

Until  Porto  Rico  came  under  the  guidance  of  the  United 
States  as  one  of  the  results  of  the  Spanish-American  war,  in 
1898,  Roman  Catholicism  dominated  the  life  of  the  people. 
In  every  community  the  church  of  this  faith  is  the  most 
prominent  building  and  the  one  most  advantageously  lo- 
cated. Evangelical  Christianity  has  been  warmly  welcomed, 
however,  and  is  gradually  transforming  the  lives  of  the  peo- 
ple. The  church  is  beginning  to  have  a  vital  relationship  to 
life.  The  marriage  ceremony,  for  which  there  was  little  re- 
gard, because  of  the  exorbitant  fees  charged  by  the  priests, 
is  coming  into  repute  again.  Concubinage  is  being  done 
away  with.  The  public  school  system  introduced  by  the 
United  States  is  showing  results  in  the  type  of  ambition 
manifested  by  the  rising  generation.  A  greater  desire  for 
Americanization  is  being  manifested.  But  the  task  of  trans- 
forming the  mass  of  the  poi)ulation  has  only  been  begun. 
The  lighthearted  irresponsibility  of  a  people  governed  for 
generations  by  others  is  not  quickly  overcome.  The  cock- 
sureness  and  satisfaction  in  self  is  not  eliminated  in  a  day. 
The  dignity  of  labor  gains  a  foothold  only  slowly.  The 
heritage  of  slavery  and  peonage  gives  way  to  democracy  in 
a  grudging  way. 


PORTO   RICO,   SHOWING   POINTS   WHERE   THE   METHODIST   EPIS- 
COPAL CHURCH  IS  TEACHING  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF 
CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY 


VARIANTS  OF  THE  TASK  185 

CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  TAUGHT 

The  sweet  songs  of  the  evangelical  church  are  singing 
the  truths  of  Christian  democracy  into  the  hearts  of  these 
poverty-stricken  people.  Divided  among  the  several  Home 
Mission  Boards  of  eight  denominations,  the  evangelization 
of  the  island  is  being  carried  on  effectively  under  a  comity 
agreement  which  prevents  waste  of  money  and  effort.  The 
present  Protestant  population  is  about  50,000,  the  rest  of  the 
people  being  nominally  Roman  Catholic  or  else  indifferent  to 
any  form  of  religion.  Those  who  are  related  in  some  way 
to  the  Protestant  churches  get  with  their  religious  teaching  a 
training  in  the  best  things  in  Americanization.  The  fellow- 
ship of  Christian  faith  leads  naturally  to  a  common  footing 
in  democratic  ideals.  The  soldiers  who  left  the  Island  for 
service  overseas  received  some  of  their  technical  trench  war- 
fare training  in  community  houses  attached  to  a  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

A  CBtANCE  TO  MULTIPLY  INFLUENCE 

"When  Porto  Rico  is  thoroughly  Americanized  it  will  be 
under  the  local  administration  of  Porto  Ricans.  The  policy 
of  the  administration  at  Washington  is  to  fill  with  natives 
all  offices  left  vacant  by  Americans  from  the  States.  This 
means  that  to-day  is  the  time  to  be  giving  these  folks  the  high 
idealism  of  Christian  democracy.  They  will  practice  it  as 
officials  to-morrow.  Thus  the  work  done  now  will  be  multi- 
plied many  fold  through  the  influence  of  those  in  high  posi- 
tion in  the  state.  Just  as  the  government  trained  hundreds 
of  native  young  women  for  positions  in  the  public  schools  in 
the  Island,  so  must  the  church  train  native  leaders  for  its 
part  of  the  task.  We  are  past  the  time  for  halfway  mea- 
sures. The  increasing  intelligence  of  the  people  will  not 
accept  any  leadership  but  the  best.  And  the  message  which 
the  church  has  for  them  demands  that  it  is  delivered  by  men 
so  trained  as  to  command  a  respectful  hearing  from  the 
best-educated  people,  as  well  as  from  those  to  whom  it  comes 


186    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

as  the  first  sign  of  the  dawn  of  a  new  day  of  hope.  Shall  the 
church  become  the  community  center  while  things  are  in  a 
process  of  development?  Or  will  it  let  some  other  institu- 
tion which  it  will  later  have  to  disj^lace  creep  in  while  it  hesi- 
tates to  meet  its  obligation  and  opportunity? 

Our  Own  United  States 

It  grows  increasingly  difficult  to  write  a  national  hymn 
for  the  United  States  which  will  include  its  many  diverse 
variants.  When  there  were  but  thirteen  colonies  on  the 
Eastern  seaboard  this  might  have  been  done  with  ease.  To- 
day, however,  the  song  would  become  a  catalog  or  guidebook. 
But  there  is  a  song  which  the  various  peoples  of  our  land 
can  sing  with  a  feeling  that  it  unites  them  in  one  common 
bond.  Its  music  is  written  in  the  high  idealism  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith.  Its  words  are  caught  from  the  practical  work- 
ing out  of  a  democracy  which  knows  no  distinctions.  The 
song  in  its  entirety  is  the  song 'which  we  are  endeavor- 
ing to  teach  to  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Our  immediate  task 
is  to  see  that  it  is  so  well  sung  by  every  individual  within 
the  bounds  of  our  own  country  that  no  discord  will  jar  the 
rendering  when  we  finally  get  the  ear  of  the  other  peoples. 
For  after  the  days  of  battle  are  over  a  careful  analysis  will 
be  made  of  this  democracy  for  which  men  are  dying  in  order 
that  the  world  may  be  a  safe  place  for  its  demonstration. 
In  that  day  may  we  be  able  to  say,  "Our  democracy  is  Chris- 
tian and  will  stand  the  test!" 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  What  constitutes  the  ''menace "'of  Mormonism? 
How  is  the  church  meeting  it  I 

2.  Discuss  the  changes  that  have  taken  place  in  Mor- 
mon attitude  because  of  the  teaching  of  the  evangelical 
church. 

3.  What  has  democracy  for  the  American  Indian  ? 

4.  To  what  extent  has  the  Christian  Church  failed  in 


VARIANTS  OF  THE  TASK  187 

mQeting  its  obligation  to  the  Indian?    The  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church? 

5.  What  are  the  things  which  make  the  Latin-Amer- 
ican situation  in  the  Southwest  an  urgent  challenge  to  Chris- 
tian democracy? 

6.  Discuss  some  of  the  methods  of  Christian  work  now 
being  done  there. 

7.  What  gives  the  task  of  Christianizing  the  Oriental 
a  different  character  from  those  just  discussed? 

8.  Show  the  value  to  foreign  missions  of  evangelizing 
the  Chinese  and  Japanese  in  the  United  States. 

9.  Why  do  we  hear  so  little  about  Alaska  in  our 
churches  ? 

10.  What  sort  of  a  proposition  is  the  task  of  the  mis- 
sionary in  Alaska? 

11.  Discuss  democracy's  problem  and  opportunity  in 
Hawaii. 

12.  Why  must  the  Christian  Church  do  its  best  work 
there  immediately? 

13.  How  does  the  background  of  Porto  Rican  thought 
affect  the  acceptance  of  the  evangelical  Christianity  ? 

14.  How  has  the  evangelical  church  gone  at  its  task 
there? 

15.  ■  What  must  be  the  content  of  our  national  song  in 
order  that  it  may  be  sung  by  all  ? 


A  church  which  is  not  gripping  the  life  of  its  own  community  is 
simply  bluffing,  however  zealous  it  may  be  in  sending  to  the  uttermost 
parts.  An  unsaved  America,  zealously  saving  the  nations  beyond  the 
seas,  simply  shows  its  incapacity  even  to  comprehend  the  saving  mission 
for  anybody.  A  program  which  permits  a  so-called  missionary  church 
to  welter  in  the  reek  of  its  own  community's  moral  disease,  cheapens 
distressingly  the  gospel  it  presumes  to  preach,  and  at  the  same  time 
easts  disgraceful  reflections  upon  the  distant  community  to  which  it 
presumes  to  bear  its  gospel  message. — Joseph  Ernest  McAfee,  in  Mis- 
sions Strihing  Home. 

It  is  no  longer  physical  nature  about  which  our  whole  thought  world 
swings,  it  is  humanity. — Eugene  W.  Lyman,  in  The  God  of  the  New 
Age. 

Education  for  democracy  means  the  development  of  each  indi- 
vidual to  the  most  intelligent,  self-directed  and  governed,  unselfish  and 
devoted,  sane,  balanced  and  effective  humanity. — Edward  Howard 
Griggs,  in  The  Soul  of  Democracy. 

We  must  go  further  than  mere  service,  or  even  mere  contact  in 
service.  There  can  be  no  real  success  unless  Christian  people  are 
possessed  with  the  right  spirit  and  approach  and  with  the  right  attitude 
of  mind  and  heart.  The  thirteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians  must 
be  imbedded  in  the  very  soul  of  the  worker.  The  greatest  social  service 
or  individual  service  that  one  can  render  is  sympathy.  Programs,  how- 
ever, good,  will  be  nothing  more  than  "scraps  of  paper"  unless  this  spirit 
vitalizes  the  plan.  There  must  be  created  a  Christlike  thoughtfulness, 
carefulness,  sympathy,  concern  for  those  about  us  that  need  our  help. 
This  cannot  be  accomplished  by  any  force  from  without,  for  external 
force  cannot  mellow  and  soften  and  purify  the  spirit  of  man.  A  new 
heart  must  be  given  him,  he  must  have  a  new  conception  of  what  a 
man  is,  a  creature  just  a  "little  lower  than  the  angels,"  or,  as  one  of  the 
versions  puts  it,  "a  little  lower  than  God."  In  every  man  is  a  God- 
deposit  and  in  a  measure  in  him  we  find  again  God  in  human  flesh. 
When  the  significance  of  this  thought  sweeps  in  upon  the  Christian  it 
will  convert  him  as  it  did  me  when  I  faced  it  o'ne  day.  Whatever  'we 
think  of  the  color  of  a  man's  skin,  the  shape  of  his  eyes  or  the  size  of 
his  body,  we  must  respect  the  spirit  in  him,  that  deposit  of  God,  or  may 
we  not  again  crucify  the  Lord  of  Glory?  "Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto 
the  least  of  these,  my  brethren,  ye  did  it  unto  me." — George  B.  Dean. 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  THE  OPEN— LITTLE  ITALY,  NEW  YORK  CITY 


FOR  COUNTRY  AND  FOR  GOD— FLAG  RAISING  AT  BETHEL  SHIP 

NORWEGIAN-DANISH   METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 

BROOKLYN,  NEW  YORK 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  CHALLENGE  OF  THE  CHRIST 

Our  Present  Responsibility 

How  shall  the  multitudes  be  taught  the  truth  the  prac- 
tice of  which  makes  Christian  democracy  possible  1  It  is  use- 
less to  survey  communities,  study  conditions,  plan  for  equip- 
ment, and  summons  leaders  unless  that  which  all  this  leads 
to  is  determined.  People  are  transformed  by  the  new  ideas 
which  they  receive  and  whose  validity  they  accept.  New 
ways  of  life  are  not  tried  without  adequate  motive.  What  is 
the  motive  which  we  are  giving  to  those  who  are  seeking  the 
best?  What  is  the  plea  that  we  put  before  those  who  are  un- 
concerned about  the  things  which  are  uppermost  in  the 
minds  of  Christian  leaders?  How  do  we  go  about  getting 
others  to  accept  our  conception  of  a  democracy  which  shall 
be  synonymous  with  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth?  Across 
the  centuries  comes  the  challenge  of  the  Christ  to  make  him 
known  to  man,  woman,  and  child.  His  voice  summons  to 
such  endeavor  as  will  leave  no  question  as  to  the  sincerity 
of  our  purpose.  He  calls  with  no  uncertain  voice  to  those 
who  wander  in  uncertainty ;  and  they  will  be  able  to  hear  him 
only  as  we  make  plain  to  them  the  message  which  he  speaks. 

War  has  clouded  the  sky  and  added  to  the  inability  of 
the  people  of  our  own  and  every  land  to  hear  the  voice  of 
God  in  the  affairs  of  men.  Questionings  which  had  lain 
dormant  are  now  active  in  the  thinking  of  countless  hun- 
dreds of  thousands.  Does  God  still  exist?  Has  Christianity 
utterly  failed?  Does  God  hear  the  prayers  of  opposing 
armies  when  they  plead  for  his  assistance  ?  Is  he  mindful  of 
the  men  slain  on  the  field  of  battle?  Is  he  concerned  over 
the  homes  made  lonely  by  the  taking  away  of  their  men? 

191 


192    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

Will  the  church  ever  be  able  to  answer  the  new  demands 
made  upon  it?  The  list  is  long.  The  questioners  are  many. 
No  superficial  answer  will  satisfy.  It  must  be  an  answer 
that  will  vitalize  faith  and  stimulate  to  service.  Every  phase 
of  human  living  is  involved.  Every  human  relationship  is 
affected.  Who  shacU  rise  to  give  assurance  to  the  people? 
There  is  but  one  institution  whose  experience  and  faith  are 
equal  to  the  task.  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  must  recon- 
secrate itself  to  the  needs  of  to-day.  As  in  times  past  it  must 
be  the  steadying  force  of  the  nation.  Its  message  must  be 
proclaimed  in  every  place  where  men  and  women  are  to  be 
found.  It  must  talk  the  language  of  the  people.  Through 
its  ministry  the  Master  must  be  privileged  to  walk  where 
need  is  great,  where  faith  is  wavering,  where  hope  is  dim. 
The  evangel  of  the  Son  of  God  must  be  proclaimed  so  that 
people  will  behold  him.  Out  of  the  horrors  and  devastation 
of  war  a  new  day  must  dawn.  The  character  of  that  day  de- 
pends upon  those  who  claim  Jesus  Christ  as  their  Saviour 
and  Lord. 

Methodism  Always  Evangelistic 

This  is  no  new  challenge  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  The  purpose  of  her  ministers  and  missionaries  at 
home  and  abroad  has  ever  been  to  lead  folks  to  see  and  ac- 
cept the  way  of  life  lived  and  advocated  by  the  Master. 
From  its  very  beginning  it  has  been  an  evangelistic  church. 
The  fervor  of  its  preaching  has  been  a  symbol  of  its  min- 
istry. Salvation  has  been  the  most  prominent  note  in  its 
song.  Class  leaders  have  toiled  to  make  its  message  effect- 
ive. Exhorters  have  added  their  plea  to  the  minister's  word 
of  guidance.  Pastors  and  itinerant  evangelists  have  stirred 
the  people  to  consider  their  way  of  life,  if  it  be  in  accordance 
with  the  will  of  God.  The  challenge  to-day  is  more  complex 
than  it  has  been.  Its  demands  are  for  greater  sacrifice  and 
harder  service.  But  the  church  which  for  several  genera- 
tions has  adapted  itself  to  the  changing  needs  of  the  times 
will  respond  now  with  full-hearted  loyalty.    It  is  awake  to 


THE  CHALLENGE  OF  THE  CHRIST  193 

the  needs  of  our  national  life.  It  recognizes  the  Kingdom's 
necessities.  It  has  called  its  ministry  and  membership  to 
service  which  is  adapted  to  the  conditions  and  needs.  It  is 
pointing  them  to  the  way  they  may  best  help  in  a  task  the 
doing  of  which  will  bless  not  only  our  own  land,  but  also 
every  land  where  our  boasted  democracy  gains  foothold. 

New  Points  of  Contact 

Meeting  the  religious  needs  of  any  day  necessitates  a 
recognition  of  the  new  points  of  contact.  The  increasing 
complexity  of  American  life  emphasizes  this  very  strongly. 
Our  sudden  plunging  into  world  responsibilities  adds  to  the 
importance  of  this  recognition.  We  are  no  longer  mere  indi- 
vidualists. Even  the  isolated  farmer  is  to-day  tied  up  to  the 
rest  of  the  nation  by  his  contribution  of  war  food  for  the  na- 
tions. Into  every  home  in  the  United  States  has  gone  the 
call  for  men.  We  have  been  welded  together  in  a  few  short 
months  in  a  way  in  which  the  years  failed  to  unite  us.  At 
every  point  where  we  rub  elbows  is  an  opportunity  for  inter- 
preting the  message  of  the  Christ.  The  upheaval  in  our 
economic  life  forces  an  interpretation  and  application  of 
the  gospel  which  demonstrates  the  justice  of  its  appeal. 
Labor  unionism  is  becoming  a  religion  which  must  be  met  at 
the  point  where  practical  righteousness  is  demonstrated. 
The  industrial  world  has  felt  the  heavy  burdens  which  Chris- 
tianity offers  to  remove  and  is  waiting  for  an  utterance 
which  will  bring  relief.  The  educational  interests  of  the 
country  want  the  message  translated  so  as  to  meet  the  needs 
of  the  developing  minds  of  the  student  body.  A  presentation 
is  needed  which  has  the  same  intellectual  adequacy  as  has  the 
presentation  of  those  philosophies  at  which  the  world  has 
grasped  during  the  centuries.'  An  evangelism  is  needed  that 
knows  no  distinction  between  people.  It  must  be  tireless  in 
its  efforts.  It  must  know  people  as  well  as  its  message. 
Fired  by  a  desire  to  help  the  people  to  whom  it  goes,  it  must 
put  the  counting  of  heads  in  the  background.  If  the  effort 
is  to  save  the  church  it  would  better  be  put  into  other  direc- 


194    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

tions.  Is  it  the  church  that  must  be  saved,  or  the  people  who 
must  be  helped!  This  question  finds  ready  answer  in  a  form 
bf  ministry  now  being  performed  by  the  church,  which  did 
not  exist  before  the  war. 

For  Our  Boys  in  Khaki  and  Blue 

The  evangelism  to  the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  United 
States  is  a  fine  illustration  of  the  church  unmindful  of  itself. 
In  hundreds  of  cantonments  and  smaller  camps  the  men  of 
our  homes  have  been  training  for  service  overseas.  Thou- 
sands of  them  have  already  gone  over.  Hundreds  of  them 
are  buried  beneath  the  soil  of  a  land  they  had  never  seen 
until  a  few  months  ago.  To  these  men  in  camp  the  church 
has  carried  the  message  of  the  Christ.  Ministers  have  served 
in  the  huts  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Others  have  manned  the 
churches  just  outside  the  camp  and  have  devoted  all  of  their 
time  to  ministering  to  these  men  from  every  part  of  the 
country.  In  such  service  the  Methodist  P^piscopal  Church, 
through  its  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension, 
^as  invested  its  money.  Where  there  was  no  church  near  the 
camp  one  has  been  built.  In  some  instances  federations  have 
been  effected  with  other  denominations.  Whatever  way 
seemed  to  be  most  effective  for  the  welfare  of  those  min- 
istered to  has  been  adopted.  The  soldiers  and  sailors  have 
crowded  into  the  preaching  services.  Th^y  have  accepted 
Christ  at  the  altars  of  these  churches.  The  social  functions 
have  had  all  of  the  home  atmosphere  that  could  be  put  into 
them.  When  the  summons  to  embark  has  come  our  boys 
in  khaki  and  blue  have  entrained  for  a  port  of  embarkation 
with  the  happy  consciousness  that  the  church  which  they 
were  taught  to  love  in  childhood  has  manifested  its  love  for 
them  in  their  hour  of  peculiar  need.  And  those  who  had 
never  known  its  blessings  until  the  days  in  camp  have  sailed 
overseas  with  the  new  asset  in  life  of  fellowship  with  the 
One  above  all  others  who  can  sustain  in  the  day  of  battle. 

Nor  has  the  church  stopped  at  the  camps.  It  has  sent 
its  ministers  as  chaplains  with  its  sons  to  the  very  front. 


THE  CHALLEXaE  OF  THE  CHRIST  195 

Equipping  them  with  the  things  essential  for  ministry  in  the 
trenches,  the  church  has  gone  with  them  to  supply  whatever 
need  they  might  have  which  the  government  does  not  supply. 
Churches  have  released  their  pastors  to  serve  with  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  abroad  and  to  go  as  Red  Cross  chaplains.  And 
every  one  of  these  men  has  taken  with  him  the  evangel,  to 
interpret  it  in  the  strange,  new  terms  of  bloodshed  and 
horror.  The  old  terminology  is  obsolete  so  far  as  these  men 
are  concerned.  But  the  vital  saving  power  of  the  gospel  re- 
mains as  effective  as  ever.  The  great  privilege  of  these 
chaplains  on  the  field  of  battle  is  to  make  this  point  clear 
and  to  help  the  fighting  men  under  their  guidance  to  demon- 
strate it.  In  so  far  as  the  fighting  force  of  the  nation  is  con- 
cerned the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  is  awake.  The  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  has  accepted  this  unexpected  point  of 
contact  and  is  serving  mankind  in  a  new  way.  Will  the 
church  accept  the  opportunities  of  usefulness  afforded  by 
the  new  points  of  contact  in  the  groups  of  people  at  home? 
Will  the  Methodist  Ex)iscopal  Church  retain  her  heritage  of 
being  ''all  things  to  all  men"  and  bring  the  evangel  to  the 
particular  needs  of  men  in  terms  which  are  intelligible  to 
them,  with  a  force  which  convinces  that  faith  in  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  way  of  the  world's  salvation? 

The  Department  of  Evangelism 

It  is  for  the  doing  of  this  very  thing  that  the  Depart- 
ment of  Evangelism  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
organized.  It  does  not  pretend  to  have  the  open  sesame  for 
all  of  the  religious  problems  of  the  day,  or  to  stand  as  the 
sole  wisdom  of  the  church  in  matters  pertaining  to  evan- 
gelism. It  was  organized  in  order  that  the  church  might 
have  a  clearing  house  on  this  vital  matter.  It  exists  in  order 
that  every  minister  and  local  church  may  have  the  benefit  of 
the  tried  experience  and  practice  of  the  entire  church  in  lead- 
ing men  to  actual  fellowship  with  Jesus  Christ.  The  task 
of  such  a  department  is  multiplex.    The  church  looks  to  it 


196    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

for  guidance.  Its  field  is  almost  limitless.  Its  opportunity 
is  beyond  estimating.  Its  value  depends  upon  the  coopera- 
tion of  the  constituency  which  it  was  organized  to  serve. 

What  Is  Evangelism  ? 

When  evangelism  is  mentioned  it  often  brings  to  mind 
only  the  more  spectacular  of  the  evangelists  who  have  trav- 
eled the  countrj^  during  the  past  quarter  of  a  century.  All 
that  the  cartoonists  have  pictured  and  the  newspaper  para- 
graphers  have  written  are  remembered.  Too  frequently  the 
entire  matter  is  dismissed  bj^  the  man  in  the  street  without 
further  thought  on  this  account.  But  evangelism  is  more 
than  this.  It  is  the  presenting  of  the  message  of  the  Christ 
so  as  to  secure  its  acceptance.  It  includes  every  form  of 
effort  to  put  the  practical  righteousness  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  into  the  affairs  of  daily  life.  It  meets  the  strange  con- 
ception that  evangelism  and  social  service  are  two  diverse 
things,  and  aims  to  show  that  they  are  but  the  reverse  side  of 
a  practical  experience.  Evangelism  is  the  call  to  the  ac- 
ceptance of  an  experience  which  demonstrates  itself  in  com- 
munity service.  It  recognizes  the  value  of  the  camp  meeting, 
but  urges  the  addition  of  a  training  which  will  give  practical 
value  to  the  camp-meeting  blessing.  To  the  prayer  for  for- 
giveness for  sin  it  would  add  that  other  prayer : 

"O  Master,  let  me  walk  with  thee 
In  lowly  paths  of  service  free. 
Tell  me  thy  secret;  help  me  bear 
The  strain  of  toil,  the  fret  of  care. 

"Help  me  the  slow  of  heart  to  move 
By  some  clear,  winning  word  of  love; 
Teach  me  the  wayward  feet  to  stay. 
And  guide  them  in  the  homeward  way." 

Because  thought  and  life  are  so  closely  related  the 
church  cannot  use  any  halfway  measures  in  its  evangelistic 
efforts.  Whole-heartedness  umst  characterize  every  ven- 
ture.  No  opportunity  must  be  lost,  no  matter  how  far  it  may 


THE  CHALLENGE  OF  THE  CHRIST  197 

be  from  the  beaten  path  of  ecclesiastical  custom.  The  ap- 
proach to  the  Italian  may  be  by  one  method,  the  approach 
to  the  Spanish-American  by  another.  Because  the  life 
of  the  lumberjack  in  the  far  West  differs  from  the  tran- 
quillity of  a  New  England  village,  both  the  type  of  min- 
ister and  the  form  of  message  must  be  different.  The 
strenuous  deliverance  of  the  gospel  to  men  of  "big  busi- 
ness" in 'the  city's  busy  marts  of  trade  will  not  suit  either 
in  terminology  or  application  the  little  country  church 
at  the  crossroads.  University  students  demand  a  very  dif- 
ferent type  of  evangelism  from  that  employed  at  a  noonday 
shop  meeting.  The  challenge  to  a  crowd  of  human  derelicts 
at  a  Bowery  Mission  is  not  adapted  for  a  gathering  of 
thoughtful  mothers.  It  is  this  diversity  of  opportunity  and 
the  necessity  for  recognizing  the  proper  approach  that  stim- 
ulates the  modern  minister  to  preparation  not  contemplated 
by  our  fathers.  It  is  this  need  of  knowing  the  best  ways  and 
the  most  efficient  training  that  makes  possible  a  unique  serv- 
ice by  the  Department  of  Evangelism. 

A  Vision  from  the  Trenches 

The  battlefields  of  Europe  are  testifying  to  the  fact 
that  vital  religion  is  a  profound  necessity  to  every  man. 
Through  letters  and  story  and  poem  the  men  in  the  trenches 
have  let  it  be  known  that  they  are  fighting  for  a  spiritual 
ideal.  No  vision  of  aggrandizement  for  the  land  of  their 
love  blinds  them.  They  see  before  them  a  day  made  pos- 
sible for  the  establishing  of  a  Christian  democracy  worth 
dying  for.  As  they  write  back  home,  many  of  them  for  the 
last  time,  their  mind  is  on  the  condition  of  things  here.  The 
sight  of  their  fellows  slain  in  a  ruthless  slaughter  has  altered 
their  viewpoint.  What  of  the  democracy  at  home?  Is  it 
feeling  the  influence  of  the  unifying  of  the  nations  at  the 
front?  Will  the  same  petty  politics  mar  the  records  of  the 
state?  Will  men  defraud,  cheat,  deceive  as  they  did  before 
the  flow  of  the  blood  of  their  sons  began?  Will  the.poor  still 
be  oppressed?     Will  class  distinctions  still  hold?     Their 


198    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

anxiety  is  not  for  themselves.  They  are  glad  to  die  for  a 
cause  that  will  make  this  world  better.  Their  concern  is  as 
to  whether  or  not  those  left  will  finish  the  task  that  they 
have  begun.  Will  the  old  ways  be  discarded  for  new  and 
better  ways?  Will  America  the  beautiful  become  America 
the  righteous?  The  agony  of  it  reaches  back  across  the 
ocean  with  a  prayer  for  the  establishment  in  fact  of  the  ideal 
for  which  they  are  sacrificing  everything.  And  woven 
into  every  such  appeal  is  the  suggestion  and  insistence  that 
a  democracy  that  is  worthy  the  acceptance  of  the  entire 
world  cannot  exist  unless  its  foundations  are  religious.  Not 
religious,  however,  in  the  sense  of  formal  creeds  alone,  but 
religious  in  the  way  in  which  Jesus  Christ  himself  exem- 
plified Christianity.  The  need  of  religion  is  frankly  ex- 
pressed. Are  we  equal  to  meeting  the  need  in  the  terms  of  the 
need  itself?  This  is  the  question  not  only  for  the  Depart- 
ment of  Evangelism,  but  for  every  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States. 

When  we  forget  the  content  which  the  term  "evangel- 
ism" has  come  to  have  in  many  sections  of  the  country,  and 
remember  only  our  obligation  as  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ 
to  make  him  known  to  those  about  us,  our  path  seems  more 
clearly  defined.  Our  chief  difficulty  then  becomes  one  of 
discovering  how  best  we  may  serve  in  the  matter.  This 
phase  of  the  advance  of  the  kingdom  of  God  has  received 
careful  thought  by  both  the  Department  of  Evangelism  and 
those  leaders  of  the  church  who  have  been  peculiarly  useful 
in  leading  people  into  the  active  service  of  making  attrac- 
tive to  others  the  way  of  Christian  democracy.  The  world 
cannot  be  made  over  by  spasmodic  attempts  to  change  its 
viewpoint.  There  must  be  a  concerted  siege  participated  in 
by  all  the  forces  of  Christianity.  It  is  not  a  denominational 
sally  tha^  will  win  the  day.  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
a  whole  must  be  united  in  the  fight.  But  the  individual  de- 
nomination must  train  and  marshal  its  own  forces.  Its 
methods  must  be  those  which  are  best  adapted  to  its  peculiar 
form  of  church  government.    This  fact  brings  a  challenge  to 


THE  CHALLENGE  OF  THE  CHRIST  199 

the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  outline  ways  and  means 
for  making  its  forces  most  serviceable  for  the  day's  needs. 
To  this  challenge  the  Department  of  Evangelism  offers  some 
suggestions  as  an  answer. 

Conference  Evangelistic  Cooperation 

Church  membership  statistics  show  a  gain  one  year  and 
a  loss  the  next.  Various  explanations  are  offered  for  this 
rise  and  fall.  But  not  yet  has  there  been  made  a  local  study 
of  the  causes  which  enter  into  the  results.  Every  Annual 
Conference  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  should  have 
an  active  Committee  on  Evangelism.  It  should  be  a  work- 
ing committee  composed  of  men  of  various  ages  so  as  to  get 
the  viewpoint  of  more  than  one  generation  and  type  of  train- 
ing. Each  district  in  the  Conference  should  be  represented 
so  that  no  charge  will  be  overlooked.  Once  organized,  this 
committee  has  for  its  task  the  study  of  the  conditions  and 
needs  of  the  Conference  as  a  whole.  It  should  endeavor  to 
see  that  a  proper  type  of  evangelism  is  being  promoted.  It 
should  recommend  to  the  Conference  plans  which  are 
adapted  to  the  various  kinds  of  communities  where  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  ministers. 

Many  a  prayerful  effort  to  stir  the  people  on  a  Confer- 
ence district  to  a  season  of  concerted  effort  to  lead  men  to 
Christ  has  failed.  Frequently  the  failure  has  been  due  to 
lack  of  knowledge  of  what  should  be  done.  In  other  in- 
stances there  has  been  no  goal.  The  prayers,  the  enthusi- 
asm, and  the  sacrifice  have  been  swept  away  after  a  week  or 
two  because  those  participating  did  not  know  where  their 
efforts  were  to  lead.  This  is  avoided  when  a  district  has  a 
definite  goal.  Where  specific  plans  are  worked  out  before- 
hand it  is  easier  to  have  the  cooperation  of  one  church  with 
another.  The  right  sort  of  organization  will  be  effected. 
Men  and  women  will  recognize  that  results  are  expected. 
Pastors  will  realize  in  a  new  way  personal  responsibility  in 
the  matter.  The  additional  power  which  comes  from  a  con- 
sciousness that  others  are  busy  at  the  same  definite  task  will 


200    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

be  great.  The  idea  that  our  local  church  is  doing  it  all  will 
vanish.  The  prayer,  "Thy  kingdom  come,"  will  have  in  it 
the  thought  of  neighboring  communities  as  well  as  our  own. 
The  vision  of  a  Christian  democracy  for  the  world  will  grad- 
ually sweep  away  the  barriers  which  prevent  us  from  mak- 
ing certain  a  Christian  democracy  for  our  own  community. 
This  will  necessitate  dividing  the  district  into  smaller 
groups.  But  this  very  necessity  will  provide  for  the  more 
personal  study  and  making  of  plans.  The  local  church  will 
receive  greater  attention.  Its  needs,  the  sort  of  people  to 
whom  it  should  give  it  message,  its  resources  in  evangelistic 
workers  will  all  be  better  discovered  in  this  smaller  group. 
The  plans  outlined  by  the  Conference  Committee  on  Evangel- 
ism and  brought  into  concrete  form  as  a  goal  by  the  district 
may  here  be  further  adjusted  to  the  actual  churches  in  which 
they  are  to  be  used.  For  when  it  comes  to  the  local  church, 
cognizance  should  be  given  to  the  plans  which  churches  of 
other  denominations  have  under  way  or  are  contemplating. 
This  makes  local  cooperation  possible  and  opens  the  way 
for  simultaneous  endeavor  and  more  widespread  effort  and 
results. 

Evangelistic  Coaching  Conferences 

In  order  that  every  minister  in  the  denomination  may 
have  the  benefit  of  the  best  experience  of  the  church  in  this 
matter  coaching  conferences  are  held  by  the  Department  of 
Evangelism.  Ministers  and  selected  laymen  from  a  specific 
area  are  gathered  together  for  a  quiet  discussion  of  evan- 
gelism with  leaders  in  the  church.  Those  who  bring  a  mes- 
sage to  these  gatherings  are  men  who  have  demonstrated  in 
their  own  communities  the  effectiveness  of  what  they  say. 
Methods  are  compared  and  criticized.  Problems  i)eculiar  to 
individual  churches  are  discussed.  A  spirit  of  reconsecra- 
tion  is  sought  in  prayer.  Reasons  for  failure  are  pointed 
out.  Overwhelming  needs  are  made  concrete.  The  form  of 
message  for  to-day  is  outlined,  and  the  content  of  that  mes- 
sage is  made  plain.    It  is  a  time  of  careful  preparation  by 


THE  CHALLENGE  OF  THE  CHRIST  201 

those  to  whom  the  churches  look  for  guidance  in  the  task  for 
which  they  were  established.  These  men  in  turn  take  what 
they  have  received  to  smaller  groups  in  the  Conference  dis- 
tricts until  the  message  of  the  coaching  conference  is 
brought  to  the  active  workers  in  every  local  church. 

When  Laymen  Are  Trained  for  Evangelism 

It  is  in  the  local  Methodist  Episcopal  church  where  the 
intensive  training  for  making  the  gospel  message  practical 
to  the  community  must  be  carried  on,  for  the  church  at  large 
does  not  make  much  of  an  appeal  to  those  needing  the  min- 
istry of  the  local  church  around  the  corner.  We  have  had 
study  classes  in  Bible,  missions  and  social  service,  why  not 
training  classes  for  personal  workers  1  The  plaint  of  many 
laymen  when  urged  to  do  definite  evangelistic  work  is  that 
they  do  not  know  how.  Here  is  an  opportunity  to  develop 
its  forces  that  the  church  has  too  long  neglected.  Every 
church  should  have  at  least  one  training  class  for  lay  work- 
ers. They  are  the  ones  who  come  into  closest  contact  with 
the  very  people  to  whom  the  church  seeks  to  give  the  prin- 
ciples of  Christian  democracy.  And  they  are  desirous  of 
serving  in  this  way.  The  great  numbers  of  gospel  teams 
composed  entirely  of  laymen,  and  usually  of  laymen  recently 
converted,  evidence  this  desire.  Were  these  men  properly 
trained  for  the  service  which  they  are  now  rendering  with- 
out direction,  their  usefulness  to  their  fellow  men  would  be 
increased  many  fold.  As  it  is  they  are  teaching  others  first- 
hand the  new  way  of  life  which  they  have  been  helped  to  dis- 
cover by  some  one  else  who  knew  about  it.  The  possibilities 
of  service  by  both  men  and  women  are  beyond  estimate. 
And  what  a  stimulus  such  training  would  be  to  the  young 
men  and  women  who,  loving  their  Master,  know  not  just  how 
to  share  their  fellowship  with  others ! 

With  a  corps  of  men  and  women  definitely  trained  for 
evangelistic  service  how  ditf erent  the  community  looks  I  No 
urging  is  needed  to  make  a  canvass  of  the  community  to  find 
out  the  dwellers  in  the  parish  to  whom  their  church  has  said 


202    CHiaSTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

it  would  exemjilify  the  Christ.  With  a  new  enthusiasm  every 
living  soul  would  be  enrolled,  whether  they  have  any  rela- 
tionship to  the  church  or  not.  New  points  of  contact  will  be 
established.  People  will  suddenly  realize  that  the  church 
has  an  interest  in  them  of  which  they  were  unaware.  Reli- 
gious needs  will  be  discovered.  Opportunities  will  be  pre- 
sented for  talking  about  the  Saviour.  People  are  more  in- 
different to  religion  than  antagonistic  to  it.  They  are  un- 
able to  understand  the  church's  interpretation  of  the  Christ. 
Their  thinking  is  for  the  most  part  in  terms  of  the  struggle 
to  earn  bread,  provide  a  place  of  shelter,  and  raise  their  chil- 
dren in  accordance  with  their  conception  of  what  is  right. 
Unjust  working  conditions  nullify  what  they  think  the 
church  stands  for.  Unfair  business  dealings  cause  them  to 
question  the  sincerity  of  church  members.  They  have 
learned  to  symbolize  the  church  by  the  one  member  of  it  who 
has  failed  to  practice  its  teachings  as  they  understand  it. 
So  they  have  passed  the  church  by,  wondering  where  the 
spiritual  help  which  they  need  will  come  from.  All  this 
comes  to  light  in  a  community  canvass.  And  what  a  chance 
to  clear  the  thinking  of  those  thus  found!  Whatever  may 
be  the  value  of  crowd-enthusiasm,  people  accept  Christ  for 
themselves  individually.  And  individual  by  individual  is  the 
Kingdom  built  up  and  Christian  democracy  spread. 

A  constant  state  of  revival  may  well  be  expected  with 
such  a  preparation  of  both  the  community  and  the  members 
of  the  church.  The  conviction  will  grow  within  and  without 
the  church  that  there  is  a  ceaseless  business  upon  which  the 
church  of  Jesus  Christ  is  bent.  ''Power"  will  be  more  than 
a  word  to  such  a  church.  Genuitie  work  for  Christian  de- 
mocracy will  result.  Spiritual  things  will  become  the  topic 
of  daily  conversation.  The  church  on  the  corner  will  be- 
come the  center  of  the  community  in  a  new  sense.  But  is  not 
this  what  ought  to  be  the  normal  condition?  Is  there  any 
other  institution  that  should  have  a  more  definite  place  in 
the  heart  and  mind  of  every  individual  who  helps  to  make  up 
the  population?    If  there  has  been  a  failure  to  have  such  a 


THE  CHALLENGE  OF  THE  CHRIST  203 

condition  exist,  now  is  the  time  to  change  things,  "With  the 
world  trying  to  express  its  spiritual  need,  there  should  be 
such  an  enlivening  of  the  church  that  there  can  be  no  ques- 
tion in  the  mind  of  anyone  but  that  the  Christ  has  the  answer 
to  every  need. 

Accredited  Evangelists 

Does  this  mean  that  the  day  of  the  vocational  evangelist 
is  past?  Has  the  man  specially  trained  and  experienced  in 
leading  men  and  women  into  the  light  of  gospel  truth  no 
more  place  in  the  program  of  the  church?  Must  the  local 
church,  no  matter  how  inefficient  it  may  be,  do  its  task  all 
alone?  The  evangelist  is  still  needed.  His  work  is  to  go  on. 
But  it  is  hoped  that  the  local  church  will  more  and  more  fit 
itself  to  carry  on  its  own  work.  For  those  churches  which 
still  are  obliged  to  call  in  a  vocational  evangelist  help  is  pro- 
vided. A  Registration  Bureau  of  Evangelists  is  being  estab- 
lished by  the  Department  of  Evangelism.  Here  will  be  filed 
a  record  of  the  qualities  and  abilities  of  accredited  Methodist 
Episcopal  evangelists.  When  a  church  needs  an  evangelist 
it  may  write  to  the  Department  of  Evangelism  for  help.  By 
stating  the  local  needs  and  problems,  it  is  possible  to  have 
recommended  an  evangelist  adapted  to  the  community  which 
the  local  church  serves.  In  this  way  the  evils  attendant  upon 
the  ministry  of  the  wandering  evangelist  will  be  overcome. 
The  men  recommended  will  all  be  Methodist  Episcopal  min- 
isters in  good  standing,  whose  evangelistic  work  in  the  past 
has  stood  the  test  of  practical  fruitfulness.  It  is  a  new  ven- 
ture in  providing  the  best  in  the  presenting  of  the  Christian 
inessage  to  those  who  must  be  won  to  its  acceptance. 

Preachers  Needed  at  ''Soapbox  Universities" 

Preachers  of  Christian  democracy  must  be  provided 
also  for  the  numerous  ' '  soapbox  universities ' '  of  our  large 
cities.  Nearly  every  other  type  of  religion,  economic 
thought,  and  life-philosophy  has  provided  "professors"  for 


204    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

these  street-corner  chairs  of  learning.  They  have  recog- 
nized the  value  of  presenting  their  claims  where  the  people 
are.  No  moment  of  the  day  is  **out  of  season"  for  them. 
As  the  crowds  go  to  and  fro  at  the  lunch  hour,  voice  after 
voice  challenges  their  attention  for  a  few  minutes.  And  in 
that  brief  moment  they  receive  something  to  think  about  for 
a  long  time.  Many  of  the  doctrines  promulgated  by  these 
teachers  of  the  people  are  openly  destructive  of  the  best  in 
life.  Some  strike  at  the  very  foundations  of  our  national 
life.  Others  deride  the  spiritual  ideals  for  which  the  church 
stands.  All  manner  of  teaching  prevails.  Nor  are  the  teach- 
ers untrained  for  their  task.  They  know  their  subject. 
They  are  familiar  with  the  psychology  of  public  speaking. 
They  understand  what  the  people  who  make  up.  their  audi- 
ence want  to  hear.  They  speak  the  language  of  the  streets. 
The  result  is  that  they  are  planting  destructive  ideas  in  the 
minds  of  thousands.  These  must  later  be  dislodged  by 
long  and  painful  eifort  on  the  part  of  those  who  would  build 
the  life  of  the  nation  on  the  ideals  that  gave  us  our  present 
leadership. 

Shall  the  church  not  be  among  those  with  a  message  for 
the  passer-by?  It  is  no  easy  task  to  preach  the  gospel  with 
another  speaker  twenty  feet  away  on  either  side  urging  alien 
doctrines.  But  where  is  there  a  better  chance  to  meet  the 
questions  which  the  people  are  seeking  concerning  life? 
They  are  not  backward  in  objecting  to  dogmatism.  They 
are  alive  to  every  weak  point  in  the  speaker's  discourse.  He 
must  be  sure  of  his  message  and  of  himself.  This  he  ought 
to  be  anywhere.  This  he  must  be,  here.  The  church  must 
equip  and  support  a  large  number  of  men  for  this  work.  It 
will  aid  the  task  done  by  the  local  church.  It  will  set  in  mo- 
tion influences  which  will  react  without  being  checked  up. 
The  city  and  the  State  will  be  blessed  by  the  new  ideas 
hastily  planted.  And  the  nation  itself  will  have  cause  to  re- 
joice that  the  church  is  busy  on  the  same  corner  where  de- 
structive doctrines  are  weakening  the  faith  of  the  people  in 
the  institutions  of  the  land. 


THE  CHALLENGE  OF  THE  CHRIST  205 

A  Message  for  the  Toiler 

And  what  of  the  thousands  in  our  industrial  centers? 
They  are  unable  to  go  outside  of  the  factory  at  the  noon 
hour.  The  message  must  be  taken  inside  the  factory  to  them. 
Much  has  been  said  of  late  about  church  and  labor.  But  the 
man  meant  by  ''labor"  is  just  as  much  a  part  of  the  national 
life  as  the  man  meant  by  "church."  If  the  latter  has  some- 
thing of  value  which  the  former  has  not,  he  should  give 
it  to  him.  But  he  will  not  come  to  church?  Then  take  the 
message  and  ministry  of  the  church  to  him.  He  needs  it. 
He  is  made  like  all  other  men.  The  problems  of  earning  a 
living  and  providing  for  his  loved  ones  are  the  same  in  kind 
as  those  of  everyone  else.  The  joys  of  life  appeal  to  him. 
Life's  sorrows  and  misfortunes  strike  at  his  home.  He  is 
ambitious  for  his  children.  He  would  have  his  wife  enjoy 
the  best  that  he  can  provide  for  her.  And  he  wants  the  min- 
istry of  the  church.  When  he  does  not  receive  it  he  accepts 
the  ministry  of  the  labor  union  in  its  place.  The  lodge  be- 
comes his  church.  Its  ministries,  based  upon  the  practice  of 
the  teachings  of  Christ,  satisfy  him.  Thus  he  loses  the  in- 
spiration and  helpfulness  of  the  fellowship  of  the  constituted 
church.  His  noon  hour  may  be  filled  with  a  brief  message  of 
Christian  hope.  His  doubts  and  misgivings  as  to  the  prac- 
ticability of  the  church  may  be  explained  away.  He  may  be 
led  to  active  fellowship  with  Christ  and  his  family  to  a  home 
in  the  church,  by  this  simple  factory  service.  Already  it  is 
being  done  in  many  shops.  But  the  number  of  places  where 
it  is  not  done  opens  the  way  for  nearly  every  local  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  to  have  a  part  in  this  task. 

Evangelism  of  the  Eye 

A  most  important  form  of  evangelistic  work  is  that 
carried  on  by  means  of  the  printed  page.  All  great  move- 
ments spread  their  message  broadcast  in  the  form  of  liter- 
ature. There  are  some  who  teach  vagaries  of  faith  who  have 
the  page  of  information  so  distributed  as  to  catch  the  eye  in 


206    CHRISTIAN  DP^MOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

all  places.  The  best  writers  are  employed  to  put  the  message 
into  form  and  style  that  will  appeal  to  the  casual  reader 
Hundreds  of  devotees  become  voluntary  distributors  of  it 
People  read  it  on  the  street  cars,  in  waiting  rooms  and  in 
their  places  of  business.  It  is  found  everywhere.  And  its  in- 
fluence is  so  great  that  one  meets  countless  people  who  are 
ready  to  quote  from  it  and  defend  it — people,  too,  whose 
knowledge  of  the  subject  is  limited  to  the  stray  leaflet  which 
accidentally  fell  into  their  hands. 

Evangelism  of  the  eye  often  has  a  more  lasting  influ- 
ence than  the  evangelism  of  the  ear.  People  forget  the  exact 
statement  made  by  the  speaker.  It  becomes  confused  with 
their  own  thinking  or  something  heard  or  read  at  another 
time.  There  is  no"  way  of  checking  it  up.  With  the  printed 
page  it  is  different.  It  may  be  read  several  times.  It  is  al- 
ways on  hand  for  reference.  Careful  study  may  be  made  of 
it.  As  a  people  we  are  rapidly  becoming  eye-minded.  The 
best  reports  of  important  events  are  those  which  we  see  in 
print  or  through  pictures.  Many  public  speakers  distribute 
the  gist  of  their  message  in  printed  form  so  that  those  hear- 
ing it  may  go  over  it  again  in  their  homes.  The  day  of  the 
leaflet  for  purposes  of  promulgating  ideas  is  not  yet  past. 

Possibly  the  reason  for  thinking  that  leaflet  literature 
belongs  to  a  past  age  is  the  failure  of  many  religious  organ- 
izations to  keep  their  literature  up  to  date.  Printed  in 
funereal  form  with  sermonic  style,  there  has  been  no  great 
demand  for  it.  When  given  all  the  advantages  of  good  print- 
ing and  forceful  style  it  is  another  story.  People  want  to 
know.  Many  of  them  are  unable  to  go  where  they  may  learn. 
The  printed  j)age  comes  into  their  home  with  all  the  famiTi- 
arity  of  an  old  friend.  It  is  read  and  discussed.  More  of 
the  same  sort  is  sought. 

Has  the  church  a  message  which  can  go  to  the  people  in 
this  form?  There  is  no  question  as  to  that.  The  question 
is,  ''Will  the  church  arise  to  this  chance  to  further  the  work 
which  it  is  trying  to  do  ? "  There  are  those  who  can  write  the 
message.    There  are  those  who  would  scatter  it  broadcast 


THE  CHALLENGE  OF  THE  CHRIST  207 

were  it  available.  It  remains  only  for  the  churcli  to  provide 
funds  for  this  purpose.  Already  some  of  this  literature  is  in 
process  of  preparation.  It  is  varied  for  the  people  by  whom 
it  will  be  read.  Some  of  it  will  be  used  to  counteract  rabid 
socialistic  doctrines.  Some  will  go  to  those  upset  by  anarch- 
ism. The  foreigner,  with  his  little  knowledge  of  the  English 
language,  will  have  a  message  on  Christian  democracy  in  his 
native  tongue.  Those  who  scorn  the  church  will  have  an 
appeal  in  their  own  terminology.  The  program  is  long  and 
varied.  Will  it  be  worth  while?  There  is  hardly  another 
channel  through  which  the  Christian  message  will  flow  more 
easily  and  to  greater  advantage  to  those  who  receive  it.  We 
are  entering  upon  a  day  when  the  church  must  increase  its 
output  of  the  printed  message  many  times.  It  will  be  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  printing  used  in  modern  advertising.  It 
will  be  read  in  the  terminology  of  daily  life.  It  will  be  on 
fire  with  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  will  take  him  to 
places  where  his  disciples  are  unable  to  go.  It  will  plead  the 
cause  of  the  kingdom  of  God  by  firesides  where  any  other 
messenger  of  the  cross  would  be  refused.  The  doctrines  of 
Christian  democracy  will  be  repeated  again  and  again  in 
daily  conversation.  The  day  of  our  hope  will  be  wonder- 
fully advanced. 

The  Sunday  School  and  the  Epworth  League 

This  broader  vision  of  Christian  service  is  being  taught 
to-day  in  the  Sunday  schools  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Through  the  labors  of  the  Board  of  Sunday 
Schools  there  has  been  gradually  introduced  a  curriculum 
of  Bible  study  which  relates  the  principles  and  teachings  of 
Christianity  to  the  problems  of  everyday  life  for  all  ages 
from  childhood  to  old  age.  By  means  of  institutes  held 
throughout  the  country,  Sunday  school  ofiicers  and  teachers 
are  being  instructed  both  in  the  processes  of  religious  edu- 
cation and  the  intelligent  leading  of  boys  and  girls  into  fel- 
lowship with  Jesus  Christ.    Thus,  early  in  life  the  practice 


208    CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

of  Christian  democracy  is  given  actual  relationship  to  Chris- 
tian experience. 

The  Epworth  League  likewise  is  training  its  members 
for  Christian  service  and  evangelistic  endeavor.  The 
summer  institutes  of  instruction  and  recreation  are  the 
training  schools  of  thousands  of  young  men  and  young 
women.  Here  they  learn  the  meaning  of  Christian  life  in 
terms  of  relationship  to  the  problems  of  Christian  demo- 
cracy. As  leaders  for  Bible  and  mission  study  classes  they 
take  with  them  to  their  local  chapter  both  knowledge  and  in- 
spiration. From  the  counsel  received  they  become  winners 
for  Christ  of  the  intimate  friend  called  ''chum."  By  com- 
parison of  methods  they  learn  the  first  lessons  in  the  task  of 
church  leadership  for  the  days  ahead.  Loyalty  to  country 
and  to  God  is  the  foundation  of  their  enthusiastic  effort  to 
make  the  appeal  of  Christian  fellowship  attractive  to  those 
of  their  own  age.  From  the  camps,  the  trenches,  the  battle- 
ships, and  the  air  fleet,  comes  the  assuring  news  that  the 
work  of  the  Sunday  school  and  the  Epworth  League  has  been 
so  well  done  that  it  is  counting  to-day  as  a  helpful  force  with 
our  boys  who  are  now  fighting  for  the  ideals  of  Christian 
democracy  as  a  world  proposition. 

The  Sign  of  a  Great  Hope 

A  new  note  has  been  struck  in  our  national  life.  Born 
of  the  sorrow  and  suffering  of  war,  it  sounds  alike  in  the 
market  place  and  in  the  home.  It  is  extremely  personal  in 
its  expression.  Hearts  break  in  sounding  it.  Strong  men 
give  way  to  emotion  at  hearing  it.  But  with  it  has  come  the 
sign  of  a  great  hope.  America,  in  cooperation  with  the 
Allies,  sent  her  armies  forth  in  response  to  the  demands  of 
a  spiritual  ideal.  To  demonstrate/that  right  is  greater  than 
might,  her  sons  lie  buried  in  France  and  at  the  bottom  of  the 
sea.  Men  are  asking  what  it  all  means.  An  interpreter  for 
the  age  is  asked  for.  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  is  respond- 
ing with  the  message  of  the  Master  phrased  in  terms  of  the 
day  in  which  we  live. 


THE  CHALLENGE  OF  THE  CHRIST  209 

In  order  that  this  message  may  be  so  interpreted  that 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  shall  understand,  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  is  pushing  its  missionaries  into  every 
nook  and  corner  of  the  land.  In  order  that  they  may  be 
properly  equipped  for  their  task  it  is  furnishing  them  with 
material  means  beyond  anything  it  has  ever  undertaken  be- 
fore. In  order  to  secure  this  money  the  church  is  asking  its 
entire  membership  to  share  with  its  leaders  in  making  pos- 
sible the  new  conquest.  What  a  response  to  the  conditions 
prevailing  in  the  communities  of  the  land!  In  city,  town, 
and  village,  the  people  are  being  summoned  to  do  big  things 
for  the  sake  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  And  this  not  that  a 
denominational  church  may  be  glorified,  but  in  order  that 
Christian  democracy  may  be  the  dominating  force  in  the  life 
of  the  people.  Young  men  and  young  women  are  being 
called  to  carry  our  democracy  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
World  responsibility  is  being  recognized  in  a  large  way. 
And  the  first  essentials  are  being  provided  for  by  an  ade- 
quate teaching  and  practice  of  Christian  democracy  at  home. 

The  Day  Dawns — ^Are  We  Awake  1 

What  of  the  morrow?  The  outlook  is  fair  and  hopeful. 
When  the  church  teaches  the  principles  of  Christian  de- 
mocracy so  that  the  common  spiritual  needs  of  every  citizen 
are  met  in  Jesus  Christ,  we  may  send  forth  the  news  to  all 
the  earth  that  American  democracy  is  the  answer  to  their 
cry  for  national  foundations  which  will  not  only  endure,  but 
make  better  the  nation  from  year  to  year.  The  church  is  at 
its  task.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  on  the  quest 
for  $80,000,000  to  help  in  doing  its  part  of  the  task  at  home 
and  abroad.  Its  celebration  of  a  hundred  years  of  its  mis- 
sionary activities  is  in  the  form  of  an  advance  to  even 
greater  things.  Four  million  members  of  the  church  are 
back  of  the  movement.  Some  of  the  success  of  the  new  day 
depends  upon  the  securing  of  the  money  needed  to  do  the 
task.  This  success  depends  upon  the  individual  who  wants 
the  world  to  have  the  privileges  and  blessings  prized  by  him. 


210 '  CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  FOR  AMERICA 

Christian  democracy  will  guide  the  afifairs  of  America  just 
as  soon  as  you  practice  it  and  make  possible  its  teaching  to 
your  fellows  along  the  way ! 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  What  is  our  present  responsibility  with  reference  to 
Christian  democracy  ? 

2.  Discuss    the    religious    questions    which   war   has 
brought  to  the  surface. 

3.  Show  in  what  ways  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
has  always  been  evangelistic. 

4.  "WHiat  are  some  of  the  new  points  of  contact,  from  a 
religious  viewpoint,  to  which  evangelism  must  give  heed? 

5.  In  what  ways  has  the  church  ministered  to  our  boys 
in  khaki  and  blue? 

6.  What  is  the  Department  of  Evangelism?    What  is 
its  task? 

7.  What  do  you  understand  evangelism  to  embrace!  . 

8.  Discuss  the  new  vision  which  has  come  to  us  from 
the  trenches. 

9.  How  may  an  Annual  Conference  be  organized  effec- 
tively for  evangelistic  work?    A  district? 

10.  Discuss  the  value  of  training  laymen  for  evangel- 
istic work.    How  may  this  training  be  done  ? 

11.  What  is  an  accredited  evangelist? 

12.  Discuss  the  *' soap-box  university"  and  its  need  of 
strong  preachers. 

13.  How  may  industrial  toilers  be  ministered  to  in 
their  shops  ? 

14.  Discuss  the  evangelism  of  the  eye.    How  may  its 
usefulness  be  increased  ? 

15.  Wliat  new  note  has  been  struck  in  our  national  life  ? 

16.  Discuss  Methodism's  great  movement  for  world- 
democracy. 

17.  What  is  our  personal  responsibility  for  making 
America  a  Christian  democracy  ? 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  Soul  of  Democracy.    By  Edward  Howard  Griggs.    $1.25. 

Ann  -  .ca — Here  and  Over  There.    By  Luther  B.  Wilson,    75  cents. 

Trail  Tales.    By  J.  D.  Gillilan.    75  cents. 

Frontier  Missionary  Problems.    By  Bruce  Kinney.     $1.25. 

The  Frontier.    By  Ward  Piatt.    60  cents. 

Brother  Van.    By  Stella  W.  Brummitt.    60  cents. 

Introduction  to  Rural  Sociology.    By  Paul  L.  Vogt.  $2.50. 

The  Church  in  the  City.     By  Bishop  Frederick  D.  Leete.     $1.00. 

The  Rural  Church  Serving  the  Community.     By  Edwin  L.  Earp.     75 

cents.  . 
The  American  Rural  School.    By  Harold  W.  Foght.    $1.25. 
The  Study  of  a  Rural  Parish.    By  Ralph  A.  Felton.    50  cents. 
Sons  of  Italy.    By  Antonio  Mangano.    60  cents. 
Immigrant  Forces.     By  William  P.  Shriver.     60  cents. 
The  Immigrant  and  the  Community.     By  Grace  Abbott.     $1.50. 
Leadership  for  the  New  America.     By  Archibald  McClure.     $1.25. 
The  Challenge  of  Pittsburgh.    By  Daniel  L.  March.     60  cents. 
The  Challenge  of  St.  Louis.    By  George  B.  Mangold.    60  cents. 
The  Redemption  of  the  South  End.    By  E.  C.  E.  Dorion.    $1.00. 
The  Gospel  for  a  Working  World.    By  Harry  F.  Ward.    60  cents. 
Your  Negro  Neighbor.    By  Benjamin  G.  Brawley.    60  cents. 
Methodism  and  the  Negro.    By  I.  L.  Thomas.    $1.00. 
A  Short  History  of  the  American  Negro.  By  Benjamin  G.  Brawley.  $1.25. 
The  New  Country  Church  Building.  By  Edwin  de  S.  Brunner.  75  cents. 
The  American  Indian  on  the  New  Trail.  By  Thomas  C.  Moffett.  60  cents. 
The  Klondike  Clan.    By  S.  Hall  Young.    $1.35. 
Advance  in  the  Antilles.    By  Howard  B.  Grose.    60  cents. 
Down  in  Porto  Rico.    By  George  Milton  Fowles.     75  cents. 
Social  Evangelism.    By  Harry  F.  Ward.    50  cents ;  postage,  8  cents. 
Educational  Evangelism.    By  Charles  E.  McKinley.    50  cents;   postage, 

10  cents. 
Every  Church  Its  Own  Evangelist.    By  Loren  M.  Edwards.    50  cents. 
Letters  on  Evangelism.    By  Edwin  H.  Hughes.    25  cents;  post.,  3  cents. 
Religious  Education   and  Democracy.     By   Benjamin   S.   Winchester. 

$1.50. 
In  Our  First  Year  of  War.    By  Woodrow  Wilson.    $1.00. 
The  New  Democracy.    By  Walter  E.  Weyl.    $2,00. 

Our  Democracy,  Its  Origins  and  Its  Tasks.    By  James  H,  Tufts.    $1.50. 
The   Oregon   Missions.     By  James  W.   Bashford.     $1.25, 
Brigham  Young  and  His  Mormon  Empire.     By  Cannon  and  Ejiapp. 

Leaflet  literature   on   all  phases   of   Home   Missions   and   Church 
Extension   work  may   be   secured,   without   charge,   by   writing   to   the 
Board    of   Home   Missions    and    Church    Extension    of    the    Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  1701  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 
Blazing  the  Trail.    By  W.  W.  Van  Dusen.    75  cents. 
The  Missionary  Pioneer.    By  John  Stewart.    25  cents. 

The  books  here  listed  may  be  purchased  from  The  Methodist  Book 
Concern. 


APPENDIX 

THE  CENTENARY  OF  METHODIST  MISSIONS  IN  A  NUTSHELL. 

1  A  Celebration  of  the  One  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Methodist  Missionary  Society. 

2  A  World  Program  based  on  careful  surveys  of  need  and  opportunity. 

3  A  campaign  to  release  the  prayer  power  of  the  church  by  enrolling 
•tens  of  thousands  in  the  Fellowship  of  Intercession,  and  training  them  as 
prayer  helpers. 

4  A  stewardship  drive  to  secure  the  enrollment  of  a  million  Method- 
ists who  will  acknowledge  their  stewardship  by  the  payment  of  the  tithe. 

5  An  appeal  for  life  service  to  recruit  a  large  number  of  new  workers 
for  the  ministry,  home  and  foreign  missions,  and  for  service  in  the  local 
church. 

6  Special  Centenary  activities  in  the  Epworth  League,  featuring  stew- 
ardship, prayer,  and  mission  study,  vv^ith  a  thorough  presentation  of  the 
Centenary  message  and  methods  at  all  institutes. 

7  A  movement  to  make  the  Sunday  school  missionary  in  spirit,  and 
to  insure  a  very  definite  expression  of  this  spirit  through  prayer  and  offer- 
ings of  money  and  life.    The  Sunday  school  financial  goal  is  $10,000,000. 

8  Unprecedented  publicity  through  the  church  papers,  Missionary 
News,  World  Outlook,  the  Centenary  Bulletin  and  the  secular  press. 

9  A  church-wide  educational  campaign  with  mission  study,  mission- 
ary instruction  in  the  Sunday  school,  and  the  use  of  lantern  slides,  charts, 
posters,  and  other  pictorial  materials. 

10  The  enlistment  and  training  of  at  least  one  hundred  thousand 
leaders  to  carry  the  Centenary  message  and  methods  to  the  last  member 
and  adherent  of  the  Methodist  Church. 

11  A  nation-wide  organization  of  the  country  by  territorial  divisions, 
conferences,  districts,  groups,  and  local  churches. 

12  An  allotment  of  financial  goals  to  be  voluntarily  accepted  by  every 
district  and  local  church  in  Methodism. 

13  A  national  simultaneous  ten-day  financial  drive  to  secure  pledgea 
for  eighty  million  dollars,  to  be  paid  during  a  period  of  five  years. 

14  A  series  of  great  meetings  throughout  the  church  to  Inspire  and 
Inform  the  membership. 

15  A  central  patriotic  Centenary  Celebration  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  in 
June,  1919.  The  general  theme  of  the  program  to  be,  "The  Christian 
Crusade  for  World  Democracy." 

16  World-wide  extension  and  conservation  to  sustain  and  surpass  the 
standards  of  devotion  and  giving  set  by  the  Centenary. 

213 


214  APPENDIX 

HOME  xMISSIONS  AND  THE  CENTENARY  OF  METHODIST 
EPISCOPAL  MISSIONS 

In  celebrating  the  Centenary  of  Methodist  Episcopal  Missions,  as 
authorized  by  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  at  Saratoga  Springs  in  1916,  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  plans  the  following 
program.  Full  details  may  be  secured  by  writing  to  the  Joint  Centenary 
Committee,  111  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  city.  The  items  are  here  given 
in  the  order  which  corresponds  to  their  treatment  in  the  text  of  the  book. 
The  first  figure  in  each  instance  is  the  number  of  projects,  the  second  the 
amount  needed  to  finance  them.  This  figure  is  the  Centenary  asking  for  a 
period  of  five  years. 

CHAPTER  I. 

DEMOCRACY'S  FOUNDATIONS 

The  building  of  more  and  better  churches  and  the  aiding  in  the  sup- 
port of  ministers  of  high  caliber  in  the  frontier. 

Equipment 874         $1,039,800 

Maintenance 795  950,085 

Total    $1,989,885 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  RURAL  OPPORTUNITY 

The  carrying  out  of  all  the  rural  projects  included  by  district  superin- 
tendents in  their  Centenary  statements;  a  campaign  for  increasing  the 
efficiency  of  the  rural  ministry;  cooperation  with  other  agencies  in  estab- 
lishing effective  training  for  rural  leadership. 

1.      FAVOK.\ni.E    RUBAL    COMMUNFTIES 

Equipment l.HO        $1,889,050 

Maintenance 1.101  1.245,275 

Total $3,134,325 

2.      IhOLATED   RUBAL   COMMUNITIES 

Equipment 1*2  $383,550 

Maintenance 367  582.180 

Total »»65,730 

3.     Industrial  Rural  Communities 

Equipment 99  5528.850 

Maintenance 152  484.740 

Total $1,013,590 


APPENDIX  215 

4.    Highlanders  of  the  South 

Equipment 158  $294,050 

Maintenance 115  203,150 

Total 1497,200 

•      CHAPTER  III. 
OUR  FUTURE  CITIZENS 
ITALIANS 

The  strengthening  of  certain  Italian  centers  where  successful  work  is 
being  accomplished.  Building  churches  suitable  for  the  Italians'  need  of 
color  and  life.    The  inaugurating  of  the  program  on  page  71. 

Equipment 50  |961,800 

Maintenance 131  636,300 

Total $1,598,100 

Eastern  European  Groups 

The  Christianizing  and  Americanizing  of  the  Eastern  European 
groups.  The  establishment  of  churches  and  missions.  The  betterment  of 
their  social  life.  The  circulation  of  good  literature.  Strong,  well-organized 
evangelistic  campaigns.  These  peoples  include  the  following  groups: 
Slav,  Lettic,  Finno-Ugric,  and  Semitic. 

Equipment 33  $487,300 

Maintenance... 72  318,190 

Total $805,490 

Miscellaneous  Foreign-Speaking  Groups 

Social  service  and  welfare  work  is  planned  for  these  people  by  means  of 
language  pastors,  directors  of  religious  education,  women  workers,  visiting 
nurses,  and  deaconesses  connected  with  English-speaking  churches.  Evan- 
gelistic campaigns,  classes  for  speaking  English,  efforts  to  lift  the  stand- 
ard of  living,  and  movements  to  Americanize  are  part  of  the  program 
planned  for  these  Finns,  Syrians,  French-Canadians,  Armenians,  and 
Greeks. 

Equipment 7  $76,500 

Maintenance 26  122,250 

Total $198,750 

CHAPTER  IV. 
"WHERE  CROSS  THE  CROWDED  WAYS  OF  LIFE" 
Industrial  Groups  in  the  City 

Initiating  a  program  of  evangelism,  religious  education,  and  social 
uplift.  Building  neighborhood  churches  in  polyglot  industrial  communities. 


216  APPENDIX 

EstaWishlng  community  churches  in  neglected  sections.  Adding  parish 
houses  to  the  equipment  of  old  family  churches  for  general  institutional 
work.  Providing  a  personnel  to  consiS't  of  the  modern  type  of  social 
service  expert 

Equipment 230        $4,799,950 

Maintenance 434  1,962,850 

Total $6,762,800 

Downtown-Transient-Polyolot  Masses 

The  building  of  new  and  well-equipped  churches  which  can  supply  facil- 
ities for  religious  education,  lectures,  classes,  clubs,  and  general  recreation. 
Remodeling  family  churches  in  such  neighborhoods  so  that  they  can  con- 
form to  their  new  program.  Establishing  dormitories  as  a  step  in  solving 
the  lodging-house  problem.  Establishing  downtown  clinics;  supplying 
special  workers.  Organizing  classes  in  religious  education,  English, 
hygiene,  domestic  science,  and  industrial  crafts.  Making  the  church  a 
center  for  Americanizing  influences  and  training  in  citizenship. 

Equipment 51        $5,945,000 

Maintenance 178  863,750 

Total $6,808,750 

Strategic  City  and  Suburban  Fields 

Furnishing  a  stimulus  to  building  churches  in  promising  fields  by 
giving  part  of  the  cost  Building  new  churches  in  fields  already  occupied, 
but  where  the  present  plant  is  totally  inadequate;  keeping  the  standard  of 
church  buildings  up  to  mark  set  by  municipal  and  private  buildings; 
improving  and  enlarging  churches  where  the  growth  of  the  district 
requires  it;  giving  pastoral  aid  so  that  able  men  may  be  secured  for  the 
critical  years  following  the  founding  of  a  new  church;  and  making  the 
church  a  center  for  community  life,  especially  in  the  suburbs,  by  organiz- 
ing clubs,  social  affairs  and  lecture  courses. 

Equipment 755        $5,827,650 

Maintenance 511  935,250 

Total $6,762,900 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  NEGRO  AND  THE  CHURCH 

The  Negro  ix  the  South 

The  developing  of  a  better-trained  ministry.  Church  buildings  adapted 
to  community  service.  Typical  community  centers  in  agricultural  dis- 
tricts.    Model  parsonages  In  selected  places  as  demonstrations  of  home 


APPENDIX  217 

life.  Cooperation  with  other  denominations.  Study  of  conditions  in  all 
Negro  communities  as  to  industrial,  social,  moral,  and  religious  needs.  Etc. 

Equipment 808         $1,684,850 

Maintenance 600  903,825 

Total $2,588,675 

The  Negro  in  the  North 

The  immediate  building  of  more  churches.  Enlarging  of  those  already- 
built.  Supplying  the  pulpits  with  men  able  to  guide  the  newcomers  in 
readjusting  their  lives.  Furnishing  community  centers  for  lectures  and 
recreation.  Giving  the  young  people  wholesome  amusements.  Providing 
temporary  quarters  for  Negro  girls  and  women  just  entering  the  city. 
Organizing  domestic  science  courses  so  that  women  who  were  plantation 
laborers  in  the  South  may  learn  a  new  means  of  livelihood. 

Equipment 125         $1,164,250 

Maintenance 116  219,350 

Total $1,383,600 

CHAPTER  VI. 

CHRISTIAN   DEMOCRACY  POWER   PLANTS 

Church  extension  work  is  listed  in  all  of  the  tabulations  placed  under 
the  other  chapters.  It  is  a  part  of  practically  every  phase  of  the  Centenary 
Program.    We  lis-t  here  only 

The  Dev-elopment  of  Christian  Leadership 

Strengthening  regular  churches  located  near  student  groups,  by  help- 
ing to  get  special  equipment  and  better  leadership.  Providing  a  student 
building  or  Wesley  foundation  in  State  and  independent  institutions 
attended  by  large  numbers  of  Methodist  students.  Appropriating  $125,000 
to  be  expended  in  fellowships  and  scholarships  for  students  who  show 
promise  of  becoming  effective  leaders.  Providing  special  conferences  and 
limited  training  for  ministers  already  in  the  field  who  cannot  leave  their 
pastorates.  Establishing  training  schools  for  Christian  leadership  in  con- 
nection with  the  following  institutions: 

1.  Boston  University,  using  Morgan  Memorial  as  the  laboratory. 

2.  The  Church  of  All  Nations,  New  York  city,  in  connection  with 
Columbia  University. 

3.  Smithfield  Street,  Pittsburgh,  in  connection  with  the  University 
cultural  group  of  Allegheny  County. 

4.  The  Chicago  Training  School. 

5.  A  program  of  training  for  Rural  Leadership  in  connection  with 
State  Agricultural  Colleges. 

6.  The  Mid-Pacific  Institute,  Hawaii. 

7.  Furnishing  enlarged  educational  facilities  in  Porto  Rico  and  in 


218  APPENDIX 

the    Pacific    Southwest    for    training    leaders    to  work  among    Latin- 

Amercans. 

Equipment 51  $2,195,800 

Maintenance 74  498,650 

Total $2,694,450 

CHAPTER  VII. 

VARIANTS  OF  THE  TASK 

Mormon  Tekbitoby 

Building  new  churches,  and  strengthening  old  ones,  so  that  Meth- 
odism can  continue  to  stand  for  Christianity,  education,  and  patriotism 
in  the  heart  of  the  Mormon  territory.  Creating  a  strong  evangelical  pro- 
gram to  hold  those  already  affiliated  with  the  church;  influencing  the  Mor- 
mons into  laying  more  emphasis  on  the  Bible,  and  attracting  both  dis- 
satisfied Mormons,  and  those  with  no  religion.  Making  a  special  effort  to 
reach  the  young  people  in  the  colleges  and  universities.  One  of  the  pro- 
jects which  the  Centenary  is  asked  to  help  is  the  building  of  a  $100,000 
church  and  student  center  near  the  University  of  Utah  in  Salt  Lake  City. 
Aiding  in  pastoral  support  so  that  capable  men  may  be  obtained. 

Equipment 46  $122,250 

Maintenance 32  87,300 

Total $209,550 

The  Nobtii  Americax  Indian 

The  appointment  of  more  resident  missionaries  speaking  an  Indian, 
language.  The  training  of  nati/e  Indian  preachers.  The  establishment 
of  more  Sunday  schools.  The  appointment  of  Indian  women  workers,  to 
bring  Christianity  to  the  women  and  children  on  the  reservations,  to  teach 
sanitation  and  domestic  science.  Greater  cooperation  with  other  Protes- 
tant denominations. 

Equipment 5  $5,950 

Maintenance 30  122,500 

Total $128,450 

Latin-Amebicans 

The  evangelization  of  Latin-Americans  by  large-visioned  pastors,  and 
directors  of  religious  education  of  their  own  nationality.  Providing 
trained  and  capable  women  workers,  besides  American  religious  directors 
with  administrative  ability,  who  can  plan  community  programs.  Lifting 
the  standard  of  the  gospel  appeal  by  better  facilities  in  buildings,  location, 
and  equipment.  Americanizing  the  Latin-Americans  and  making  citizens 
of  them.  Adapting  Morgan  Memorial  ideas  to  Latin-American  needs. 
Relieving  cases  of  physical  need  through  constructive  and  mutually  self- 
respecting  social  work.    Recruiting  leaders  in  community  uplift  by  pro- 


APPENDIX  219 

viding  a  complete  course  of  practical  industrial  work,  such  as  is  given  at 
Hampton  Institute.  Promoting  friendly  relations  on  the  border  by- 
counteracting  efforts  to  embroil  Mexico  and  the  United  States. 

Equipment 115  $733,450 

Maintenance 123  568,950 

Total $1,302,400 

Oriental  Missions  of  the  Pacific  Coast 
the  chinese 

Greater  efforts  to  reach  the  Chinese  in  population  centers.  The  open- 
ing of  new  day  schools.  Further  development  of  the  Sunday  school.  The 
appointment  of  traveling  missionaries  to  reach  the  Chinese  in  scattered 
rural  communities. 

Equipment 6  -$24,000 

Maintenance 20  64,750 

Total $88,750 

THE    JAPANESE 

The  establishment  of  supplementary  day  schools  to  provide  what  our 
public  schools  cannot  give.  Aid  in  reestablishing  the  Japanese  Christian 
press.  Increasing  dormitory  accommodations  for  single  men.  Greater 
efforts  and  efficiency  in  Sunday-school  work  in  order  to  keep  pace  with 
the  rapidly  increasing  number  of  Japanese  children.  Special  stress  is  laid 
on  the  proposed  new  Japanese  Church  at  Los  Angeles. 

Equipment 7  .?33,800 

Maintenance 33  67.410 

Total $101,210 

The  Alaskan  Mission 

The  appointment  of  more  pastors  and  a  general  missionary  to  cover 
the  whole  field. 

Equipment 3  $22,500 

Maintenance 10  54,000 

Total $76,500 

The  Hawaiian  Mission 

The  appointment  of  more  Japanese,  Korean,  and  Filipino  pastors  who 
have  been  trained  in  America,  and.  who  speak  English.  The  establish- 
ment of  a  minimum  salary  of  $900  a  year  for  married  pastors,  so  that  the 
Church  will  secure  an  adequate  working  force  for  this  difficult  field. 
Extensive  development  of  the  Sunday  school  to  keep  pace  with  the  rapidly 
growing  Oriental  birth-rate,  especially  the  Japanese  and  Filipino. 

Equipment 15  $433,275 

Maintenance 61  '     208,150 

Total  "$641,425 


220 


•APPENDIX 


The  Pobto  Rican  Mission' 

The  establishment  of  mcH-e  churches  and  chapels  throughout  the  coun- 
try districts.  The  appointment  of  more  native  church  workers.  The  pro- 
viding of  these  leaders  with  a  higher  education  than  offered  by  the  public 
schools.  Special  attention  in  both  the  schools  and  churches  to  training 
in  citizenship.  Cooperation  with  other  denominations  in  non-sectarian 
educational  work. 

Equipment 68  1118.220 

Maintenance 24  95,660 

Total 1213,880 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  CHALLENGE  OF  THE  CHRIST 

The  program  of  the  Department  of  Evangelism  as  discussed  in  this 
<hapter  furnishes  the  types  of  projects  for  the  Centenary. 

Maintenance  of  Evangelists 48  $201,000 


Total. 


$201,000 


CENTENARY  PROGRAM  TOTALS  SUMMARIZED  BY  SUBJECTS 

MATERIAL                                                                TOTAL  CENTENARY 

EQUIPMENT                                  NO.                          COST  ASKINGS 

New  buildings 2.506         $53,038,950  $24,277,295 

Remodeling 1,035            5,594,700  2,794,900 

Parsonages 1,188            2,560.700  983,650 

Special 43               813,000  716,000 

Total 4,772        $62,007,350  $28,771,845 

MAINTENANCE  CENTENARY 

Ministers—                                                                  NO.  askings 

a.  Missionary 1.344  $2,487,525 

b.  Self-supporting  in  5  years 2.220  2.428.435 

Language    Pastors 250  1,037,260 

Directors  of  Religious  Education 258  1.563,850 

Women   Workers 486  1,587,610 

Deaconesses 131  270,835 

Superintendents   46  396,650 

District  Missionary  Aid 155  532.900 

District   Evangelists 48  168.500 

Others   116  772,000 

Total    5,063  $11,265,566 

GRAND  TOTAL,  $40,037,410. 


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